Blog-to-Blog: What your tastes can teach you

I'm starting a new feature within My Mental Marathon called Blog-to-Blog. It'll come up from time to time when I run across a particularly thought-provoking post. I found a couple of them during my weekly blog surf the other day, and will dedicate the next few posts to discussing what I read, and how it applies to my own re-write.

First up, Booknapped. Click on the link and see why I thought this was a worthwhile post to blog about. So I tried to come up with my own original list after reading this, and found myself searching the far reaches of my mind for the most impressive-sounding works of literature I've read. Then I thought, hey, what better way to keep it real than to take a list of favorite works I'd already created on my Facebook Info page. And I decided to go with movies, not books, because I think my movie list might be easier to make overarching assessments about. So here goes ... I'm going to cut and paste the list, and then start grouping the films by category and describing their appeal in a few words.

COMEDIES:

• Saved - quirky; good message about tolerance; terrifically funny antagonist; relatable outsider protagonist; great ensemble cast
  
• The Wedding Singer - very funny stylized 80s; nice relationship development; quirky secondary characters
• Pretty in Pink - quintessential 80s; LOVE Duckie and his friendship with protagonist (I do have a big negative with this one - the ending ... typical cheesy John Hughes/Hollywood, but the first 3/4ths make this forgivable)
• Working Girl - glitzy 80s NYC contrasted with towny Staten Isle; humorous extreme characters; feel-good ending about personal power (not just boy gets girl)
• Romey & Michelle's High School Reunion - quirky friendship; hilarious take on high school and yes, the 80s!; like one big fantasy, although very relatable

DRAMA:

• The Diving Bell and the Butterfly - triumph of the human spirit; delves into the subtleties and frailties of human relationships; no self-pity or sentimentality
• Dancer in the Dark - I've seen this film 2x and each time I was bawling as if a member of my family died;  I'm not articulate enough to be able to express what it is about this movie that got to me ... shall we chalk it up to some je ne sais quoi factor?  No, I can do better than that - how about: vulnerability; being doomed despite being loved and supported; using imagination to transcend the here and now
• La Vie en Rose - talent and success don't lead to happiness; vulnerability; moxie; loneliness; the tragic heroine whose inner demons get the best of her; romanticized era
  

Okay, now to synthesize all this ... so I like the 80s, that much is clear.  Putting on my psychoanalysis cap, I take that to mean I enjoy extremes and larger-than-lifeness, which is what that decade symbolized.  I've often thought of the 1920s as the 1980s of the 1st half of the century, which is probably why I always gravitate toward both eras.

Let's see - I like quirkiness and strong supporting characters (both supporting in the literary sense, and supporting in the emotional sense).  I want to see some kind of triumph or redemption of spirit (or conversely, degradation of spirit), and I want to really feel it in my bones, but at the same time, I don't want trumped up sentimentality.

Argh, I don't think I'm very good at this self-analysis stuff.  Anyone out there with a psychology background want to help me out? ;-)

So what does it all "mean"?

The actual question my Brilliant Editor asked was, "What is your book going to be about?"  He went on to say, "I want to know the hook you'll pitch to an agent."  Okay, let me answer these questions in reverse order:

1. I have no idea yet how I'm going to pitch this new version to an agent.
2. That's a really good question ... let me get back to you in a few days ...

So you're probably thinking, oh god, poor delusional writer wannabe-person.  If you can't answer those 2 simple questions, why not give up now?  Well, from the supportive feedback I've gotten so far, I know you're not really saying that, but of course, my "inner demon" is!  But my guardian angels of writing (I commented on someone's blog that that's how I think of all those supportive elementary school teachers who encouraged my creative writing endeavors through the years) keep whispering, "Ignore that d@#n demon!"

So here's the deal:  it's not that I'm completely in the dark as to the theme and story structure of Draft #2.  It's just that, at the moment, it's sort of like a fascinating dream I've just woken up from.  I know it was good, and that it captivated me while I was having it, but upon waking, the edges become blurred, and I can't articulate exactly what it was about that dream that made it so enthralling.  That's pretty much how I feel about my current storyline.  It's embedded in the recesses of my mind right now, but each day, I come a little closer to being able to put it into words.  So I'm confident that, once I work through a few more characterization exercises, and eventually get around to putting "pen-to-paper," I'll be able to share the wonder and glory of what's going on deep inside my head with all of you!