Je ne sais quoi

Good morning, everyone! Are y'all as stressed out as I am right now? :) I have quite a few balls in the air, so to speak, so it's been a bit hard to relax lately.

Though my R&R has kept me out of the querying trenches for the past year (!) or so, I've been thinking about that rejection I'm sure we've all received once: "I just didn't fall in love the way I'd hoped." It's a frustrating one, for sure, because maybe there's nothing wrong with the manuscript. Maybe it just didn't cross over from like to love.

It got me thinking about my own reactions to fiction. As I said on Twitter a while ago, I basically have four possible responses to a movie, TV show, or book:

1. Ugh - This is not only bad, it's offensive or problematic in some way, and thinking about it annoys me.

2. Ehhh - Most bad or mediocre fiction falls into this category, and I won't waste energy hating it.

3. I like this! - Fiction in this category ranges from good to excellent. If it's a movie or TV show, it's something I enjoy having on in the background while I do line-edits or work out, and if it's a book, I'll usually spend a nice weekend afternoon reading it. Sometimes I forget it as soon as I'm done, and other times I will idly ponder plot points and relationships on my commute.

4. LYING ON THE FLOOR, INCAPACITATED BY EMOTIONS - I love it so much I cannot actually deal.

Gif is from this album.

Being in love with a piece of fiction is a wonderful thing. I giggle incessantly at the funny moments, I bawl my eyes out at the emotional moments, and I make giant heart eyes at all the characters. Sometimes I'm able to write long, loving reviews about why it's so good, but as a rule, the more I love something, the less coherent I will be about it. My insightful commentary generally adds up to "OMG, [CHARACTER NAME]."

The difference between 3 and 4 is so, so small, but most things I like don't make it to that 'love' stage. And that has nothing to do with quality. Sometimes I will read or watch something, and intellectually I will recognize how well-crafted it is, but it's a solid 3. Then I will read or watch something silly and fluffy and absolutely fall in love with it. It might be a trope that falls into one of my narrative kinks, or a character I completely and utterly fall for, but most of the time, it isn't something I can articulate. The spark was just there for me - and yet, for someone else, that same work of fiction might be a 3. 

Or even a 2.Which I respect. Even if it makes me sad. ;)

So just because your manuscript was a 3 with one agent, don't give up! There might be someone else out there who thinks you wrote a very, very emphatic 4.

What separates like from love for you? Any recent examples?

I've been tagged!

Good morning, all! I had a wonderfully restful weekend, and I'm feeling vaguely human again. And as it turns out, I have also been tagged by the lovely Tiffany to post ten random facts about myself!

Since I did post some facts not too long ago (bad Becky, getting ahead of yourself), I'm going to do something slightly different with this. Since last week sort of made me want to punt my desk through a wall, I'm going to post Ten Things To Be Happy About Today! So without further ado, here I go.

1. I finished my line-by-line notes this weekend, and I'm going to start rewrites tonight! I'm really happy, because this is the fun part. I feel like the reread was some kind of editing triage: figuring out which passages would be okay with a little patching, and which ones needed more intensive rewrites. But now I actually get to start fixing it. I can't wait!

2. My favorite time of the year is quickly approaching! I may be alone in this, but I think that October, November, and December are the best months of the year. I can't wait to bust out the sweaters and scarves, and I especially can't wait to curl up with some hot chocolate or a pumpkin spice latte.

3. I am flush with fantastic reading material lately. Besides all the great books in my to-read pile, I plan to pick up Wildwood (which is going to have a stop-motion movie adaptation, BE STILL MY HEART), Possess, and Isle of Blood. Two horror novels and a quirky fantasy - that's pretty much all I need to be happy.

4. After my sudden burst of productivity over the weekend, my apartment is sparkly clean. This is more monumentous than I care to admit.

5. Inspiration struck last week, and now I think my next project is all set to go. I may still change my mind while I'm revising this one, but I think this new idea fills in the gap that had been preventing me from getting invested.

6. It's so wonderfully quiet today. I am taking the opportunity to bask in it. 

7. I talked about writing with non-writing people yesterday! And they didn't look at me funny! I have always been a bit nervous about discussing my writing with people for the first time, but my friends seemed genuinely interested in the manuscript and are cheering me on. I was going through some slight revision panic that day, so it was good to hear.

8. Maybe as a result of all the things above, I am feeling relaxed and confident. And that's always a wonderful thing.

9. I have you guys! When I started this blog, I thought I'd have one or two subscribers, but I managed to find some really great people. I love logging on in the morning to check your posts, and I'm really enjoying watching you all follow your dreams. I can't wait to see where you end up!

10. I am buying brie tonight. And yes, that totally belongs on this list. Brie is delicious, y'all.


Tagged: I think most of you have already done this (or have already been tagged) but feel free to share a random fact/something that made you happy/etc in the comments!

My Narrative "Kinks"

Happy Monday, all! I feel great today. It's amazing what a relaxing weekend (and a lot of sleep) will do for your mental health. And it's a beautiful day! I want go out and get a few minutes of fresh air, but since I'm literally the only assistant at my desk right now, I should probably stick around in case something catches on fire.

I feel like talking about things I love today, so I'm going to discuss my narrative kinks! And no, not those kinds of kinks. A narrative kink, by my definition, is a group of tropes and themes that, when I see them in a story, I will immediately fall for them. If they're done well enough, I will even excuse a lot of weaker points in the story. These are elements that separate like from love: I can objectively recognize a well-crafted story without any of these elements, but I am less likely to fall rabidly in love with it. (Unless, of course, that story gives me something new to obsess over.)

In any case, here are some favorites:

Atmospheric settings: Especially small towns surrounded by mountains, eerie snow-covered landscapes, the Deep South in summertime, Wonderland-esque upside-down worlds, and sprawling cities with a touch of the surreal. And if there's a ghost town or haunted house, I'm there.

Ordinary but otherworldly places: When seemingly ordinary locations are a connection to the fantastical - or maybe even a portal to the fantastical.

Fun with traditional gender roles: This is a big one for me, since I really enjoy writing it, too. I love when authors take expected gender roles and assign them to characters of the opposite sex. There are so many different, interesting ways to take this, but I'm a particular fan of girls who want to be detectives, princes, or knights in shining armor.

Loyalty: Of the undying variety. I'm interested in the darker sides of it as well, so long as the author doesn't pretend it's completely healthy.

Unusual surrogate family dynamics: I'm a sucker for a great group dynamic in general, but especially if they fill this role.

Parallelism and the past's influence on the present: It's so interesting to me how people and events can echo long after they're gone. I especially love a moment or line of dialogue that repeats itself, but changes the meaning ever so slightly in the process.

Themes of power, control, and self-confidence: Why hello there, everything I've ever written. I'm a big fan of power imbalances, battles of wills, and characters whose internal conflicts are mirrored by their external ones.

The point of no return: If there's a place the main character is never supposed to go, I want to go there. I especially love when authors take time to build these places up, so that when the main character finally ventures there, I'm holding my breath waiting to see what happens.

Supernatural mysteries: Especially if the supernatural elements are always a little in doubt, and especially if one of the atmospheric settings above is applied. The creepier the better.

Extremely capable main characters who are, nonetheless, awkward dorks: Bonus points for a lame pun or two.

Original mythology: A new take on a Greek myth or Japanese folklore would not go amiss, either.

Strong same-sex friendships that aren't torn apart by a love triangle at the midpoint of the story: It's sort of sad that I have to specify this. 

And many more I'm sure I'll think of later!

How about you? What are some of your narrative kinks?