Tag Archives: Twilight

March 21, 2012 · 6:00 am

Is It Okay to Write Fan Fiction?

 

In case you haven’t seen it, that’s the sneak peek teaser trailer for Breaking Dawn part 2 above. Why would I post that? Because I’m thinking about Twilight fan-fiction, of course. (Ha! Of course?) It’s all the rage. And so is a lot of other fan fiction. As long as there’s a fan willing to write it, it’s out there.

In case you aren’t familiar with it, fan fiction is just what it sounds like. Imitation fiction written by fans. Perhaps it’s a continuation of the story where the author left off. Perhaps it’s the story re-written with different outcomes. Whatever, it’s written by fans and not normally published in print form. Most often it’s usually posted online.

Time for another in the “Is it okay to _____?” series. And readers, don’t think today’s question is just for writers. It’s not. I want your opinion, too, even if you don’t write. Because you do read–and that’s what keeps writers in business.

Today’s question comes to my mind because of the buzz that’s been created around Fifty Shades of Grey.

If you haven’t heard of this novel, here’s a brief rundown of it’s author.

E.L. James: mother of two who lives in London, began with Twilight fan-fiction and turned it into a semi-erotic (NC-17, so they say) trilogy that apparently sold like wild-fire as an e-book, and now has been contracted for both e-book distribution and print copies– all 3 books. FYI- she did tweak the plot & change the names of her characters.

We aren’t going to discuss the issue of whether or not erotic fiction should be written or read by anybody– that’s for another time. And don’t get me started about my concern that this is a story & plot based on major best-sellers that were marketed for youth– and James’ books are clearly not for youth.

And no, I haven’t read Fifty Shades of Grey or the other books in the series. But I keep hearing about these books everywhere. Online. On the news. On the radio. Yep, someone has done some seriously fantastic marketing or something.

But back to fan fiction. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Readers– do you want more of the stories you love, even if they aren’t from the original author?

Writers– ever tried your hand at fan fiction? And how would you feel if a fan wrote something based on your story?

Share with me: Is it okay to write fan fiction? (Also with this, do you read fan fiction?)

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February 8, 2012 · 7:05 am

Are You Writing to Your Character’s Love Language?

My Sunday school class recently started a new study– The 5 Love Languages by Dr. Gary Chapman.

Some of you have probably heard of this book/study. It’s been around for awhile and has pretty much become a staple for anyone getting married or working to improve their marriage. (Aren’t we all?)

Although I’ve known about this book for years, I had never read it. So when my Sunday school teacher announced that this would be our study for the quarter, I was really excited.

I really wanted to get into the nitty gritty of what my love language is and what my husband’s is. And once we both took the quiz to discover that information, I was not at all surprised by the results. It pretty much pegged us.

We were discussing the results in class a few Sundays ago when our teacher recommended that we try to discover the love language of our children.

And I had an ah-ha! moment.

Why not use this material and apply it to my characters? I am a romance writer, after all. 

A little light bulb turned on over my head.

I started thinking about my WIP and almost immediately I knew what love language each of my lead characters communicated in. Because of that, I knew how he and she should respond to each other–what needed to happen for them to “feel” loved and how they would communicate their love to one another.

In case you aren’t familiar with The 5 Love Languages, they are as follows:

1. Words of Affirmation
2. Quality Time
3. Receiving Gifts
4. Acts of Service
5. Physical Touch

According to Dr. Chapman, each of us falls into one of these categories–this is what we need from our spouse or significant other in order to feel loved–this is also most likely how we communicate our love.

In order for a lasting relationship to happen, we need to understand what language our partner needs, learn to speak it, and have our partner return the favor.

I scored a perfect 100% for my primary Love Language to be acts of service. I wasn’t at all surprised by this. I don’t need diamonds or fancy dinners out or lavish vacations (although those things are nice!). What I need is for my hubby to occasionally fold the laundry, run errands for me, bathe our children, etc. Thankfully my husband speaks my Love Language pretty well. 🙂

My husband’s primary Love Language is physical touch. I wasn’t surprised by this, either. He likes to hold hands, hug a lot, put his arm around me. And he needs me to respond to that.

So, how can this information be applied to characters in a romance?

Think about your heroine. Among all the other things you consider about her at creation, how will she respond best and feel most loved and cherished when your hero comes a-callin’? Will it be the moment when he repairs the roof of her house? Will it be his silver tongue, laced with words of love that wins her? Or how about when his lips meet hers? Will she respond best to a box from Tiffany’s to know that she’s loved, or maybe just a walk on a beach at sunset?

What does she need to feel loved?

When considering my heroine, I knew right away that her love language was words of affirmation. She needs to hear them–she needs to be valued verbally. The more Hero praises her, builds her up, encourages her, the more she falls for him. Yeah, she likes the kisses. She likes the time they spend together, but she needs those words.

What does my hero need to feel loved?  

For him it’s physical touch. He needs to feel her respond to him. He needs to know that when his fingers linger on her hand, sparks are flying. He needs her to want to be close to him.

Yeah, I can totally make that happen. 🙂

Let’s look at an example from pop culture. I give you the Love Languages of Bella and Edward.

It is possible for a person to have more than one love language. For Bella, I definitely think she’s a mixture of quality time and physical touch. I mean, for Pete’s sake, she nearly went nuts when Edward vanished in New Moon. In all the books, his proximity to her body is what she needs to feel like he loves her. The more he’s around, the more time they spend together, the more she feels loved. Yeah, this sounds like she’s needy, but it’s just her love language–it’s part of her makeup–what she needs to feel loved.

And Edward. His love language is words of affirmation. This should be glaringly obvious, I think. He needs to be told over and over and over and over and over that he’s not a horrible creature, that he’s not hurting Bella, that she truly does love him, that he’s a good person/vampire/humanesque creature. He needs to hear it–words that affirm.

Who agrees with my analysis of these two? 

Focusing a little attention on your characters and their love language helps develop not only the backstory (why does she need words of affirmation?) but also helps you to create the romance. 

Not every girl falls for the man who buys her fancy things. (Crazy, right?)

Not every guy needs to spend every waking moment with his girl to know that they are in love.

Develop your characters around this concept– that they each speak a Love Language, and you’ll develop a lasting romance.

Share with me: Can you think of characters in a novel that have easily identifiable Love Languages? What about your characters? Can you identify what Love Language they are speaking?

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August 10, 2011 · 5:00 am

Constructing the Perfect Man- Personality Potpourri

Okay, so last week for my Writer Wednesday post we discussed the construction of the “perfect man” based on physical characteristics.

I was surprised by two things: 
1. how many of you read the post but didn’t answer the questions. For those of you who did answer, I appreciate it so much and I loved your feedback! (Hey- it’s not too late to jump back to that post here and leave a response, ladies! I could use your input!)
2. The guys who so bravely left their comments. Way to go, fellas!

One of my theories on why some of you ladies may not have given your opinion on the last “Constructing the Perfect Man” post is that for some of you, looks don’t matter. So I expect to read a lot from you on this one. 🙂

So, we move on. Today I want to know what it is about a man’s personality that attracts you.

Do you like the funny-man? The brooder? The protector? The lover? The sensitive man? The care-giver? The perfectionist? The wanderer? The one who is outspoken? The strong, silent type?

I think we all like a combination of many traits.  But the personality traits that we love can be over-kill if given in large doses. For example, I can appreciate the man who is in tune with his emotions, but I don’t want a weepy dude who cries at the drop of a hat.

Once again, I’ll remind you that when we write romance, one of the things that is purposeful is creating a man that the reader can fall in love with. After all, if he’s going to get the girl and make all things good, the reader has to want that to happen.

Generally, romance readers like a man who is brave, strong, heroic, and eventually at some point in the book, passionate. But is this cliche?

Whether or not you like the Twilight Saga, Stephenie Meyer did a fantastic job of making Edward Cullen lovable. Just ask the millions of tweens, teens, and “Twi-Moms” out there who will tell you that E.C. stole their hearts. Why? It doesn’t have as much to do with him being written as physically attractive but more to do with the fact that he’s the ultimate protector. He’ll do anything to keep his girl safe. And that makes most girls swoon.

I know I’ve used Twilight as an example before, but it’s a well-selling series that has become not only a reading, but also cultural phenomenon.

So, I want you to think about your husband, significant other, favorite movie hero, book hero, etc., and tell me what it is about personalities of these men that makes them easy to love.

To help make this easier, I’ve listed my question below. Share your opinions. I’m interested to see what you find appealing.

Share with Me: What are the top 3 personality traits you find attractive in a man?

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