Remember Romancing The Stone? Shoot, who couldn’t?
I was too young to watch the flick when it debuted in 1984, but easily fell in love with block-buster a decade later. By that point in time, I had already been devouring romance novels by the bag full. So, it was no surprise that I loved every aspect of the storyline, especially the characters.
I wanted to be Joan Wilder.
She was a writer- kind of dorky, but sassy, too. And Jack T. Colton . . . oh, my! Now, he was dreamy. Brave, adventurous, and devil-may-care, he made the perfect hero. I could watch this movie over and over again. (and have 
)
So, last week, during a particularly rainy and cold day, I popped in the DVD and got ready to be entertained. Instead, I found myself watching the movie through new eyes. Really seeing the elements of the story.
A plot line with twists and turns? Check!
Well-developed characters with sound goals, motivations, and conflicts? A believable character arc? Check, Check!
I may have been watching a movie, but for once I was tuned into the framework of what made Romancing The Stonesuch a phenomenal movie. This was studying, but BETTER. Kind of like back in college when I would tape note cards with study questions to the individual milking stations. Wipe off a cow’s udder and read a question. Hook the cow up to the milk claw and read the answer. Of course, by the end of my shift the cards were completely dirty, but it was still studying made easy! Ok, so I was a bit of dork, but I did very well on tests considering by the time most students got to class, I’d been up since 2am studying. Ha!
It was fun and very enlightening to apply what I’ve been learning about craft and writing. (I’m just thankful I didn’t have to get covered in muck to do it!)
I’ve been actively pursing writing for just about a year and a half and never would I have thought there was so much that went to crafting a good story. In a way, I’ve had to attack the learning curve in pretty much the same fashion I did when chasing my degree. I was tenacious and very, very driven. It’s why almost 8 years later, I can still recall the percentages of how much water and solids make up milk. Or what the length of a pig’s pregnancy is. (It’s 87% water to 13% solids and 3months, 3weeks, and 3days, by the way. lol)
It’s kind of weird how things just slide into place and then smack us upside the head. I think one of the most important tidbits I’ve picked up about writing is to never EVER stop paying attention. Never stop learning. There is always room for improvement!
So, the next time you need a slap shot to get your thinker-tinking, take a break and watch your favorite flick. You never know what you’ll walk away with.
What about you? Do you find ways to apply the cache of writing skills you’ve honed to everyday life? Better yet, how do you keep your passion for writing alive?
For more on Sarah Simas, check out her blog, The Lovestruck Novice. Or Friday Night Write, a blog she shares with her critique group.
Here is how I keep track of my characters’ traits. With this handy-dandy little trick, I don’t have to fish through several pages looking to see what color eyes I gave a character or where in the heck they were born. The 411 is all right there, hanging from a push-pin above my desk. I wish I could take credit for this ingenius idea, but it was mystery writer, Marilyn Meredith who showed me the light.
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