Monday, January 3, 2011

Monday Musings

Loving is you, is easy 'cause you're beautiful...






Yes I know I just did a post yesterday and have been going out of order, but I like order...so I needed a Monday Musings.

Okay, so this weekend I was Watching Roswell editing and started thinknig about conflict.  Before you have conflict with your main characters (or throw them some kind of a curve ball) I think you have to form a relationship with them...

In Roswell (which I did NOT spend all day watching yesterday), Liz and Max FINALLY start dating for real towards the end of season one.  It had been building up since episode one and I had been eagerly awaiting for them to just finally admit that they were madly in love and going to live happily ever after in an alien/human relationship.  BUT THEN...a new girl came into town and started some real tension between Liz and Max.

Why is this relevant (besides that I hate Tess)?  You have to make your characters loveable and believeable before you go and throw a conflict that can tear them apart.  Why would I care so much about two characters if I don't love their relationship?  If something happened to someone you didn't care about in the book, would it matter?

I knew I had to do the same thing for my story and as I go through and revise I know to make the relationship so real that you'll be cheering for them to stay together and when controversy strikes...you'll sit there gasping in your seat.  (Yes...I did that during Roswell and my husband and dog stared at me like I was an idiot.)

How do you build the relationship between your characters?  WHY did the creators of Roswell have to bring Tess into the picture?  Isn't Jason Behr gorgeous?

7 comments:

  1. OK, for the record I hated Tess from the beginning too! I LOVED season 1 (that's my favourite) and damn you girl for making me want to get the rest of the season to watch!! And um yeah Jason Behr was kinda nice in this ;)

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  2. I've never seen this show but I do watch the alien show V. I might have to check this out...if only to get a more in depth look at Jason Behr (because I really do like that picture). And I've been really working on building the relationship part in my new wip as I'm revising. I think having your characters have conversations that aren't trivial really helps. Good luck with the editing! If you need extra eyes, I'm here!

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  3. I agree that a relationship needs to be formed before throwing in a love triangle or something similiar. But, I also love writing about pride and the obstacles it creates before the relationship can finally be built.
    Hope the revising is going well! :)

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  4. Lynsey- I keep thinking the same thing! I ended up finding a place online where I spend most of my Sundays staring at Jason Behr instead of doing laundry.

    Nicole- I might take you up on that. I'm doing a big revision overhaul right now, but after I'm doing staring at Jason Behr (you really need to watch it, he's so pretty) I might take you up on that.

    Ketch- I totally agree. Like Hunger Games when Peeta and Katniss kind of just got thrown into their situation, but those obstacles they faced made me love them more. I still hate Tess...

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  5. I have no idea who Tess is and I've never (cough, cough) seen Roswell. And they don't have it here in France. However, if you want to talk Gossip Girl --and the whole Chuck and Blair love/conflict thing, well...

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  6. DAMN YOU LITTLE JAY! Ha...I actually stopped watching Gossip Girl somewhere at the end of Season 2/ beginning of Season 3. It got a little out there for me...(and this is from a girl who read Sci-Fi). I'm not complaining that it strayed FAR from the books, though, that was a VERY good thing. I could never imagine Chuck doing dudes.

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  7. Just came back from Christmas in central IL - mighty cold Sunday!

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