Obsessive Book Lover's Month of Books - Day Fifteen

[idiosyncreant]

I was thinking about NaNo and wondering if it's particularly good for me, as a year-long novelist. I'm not very sure that it would be a good idea this year.
I've just recovered from a 2 year slump as far as novels go, and I don't need to rush right back in by doing something taxing.

I'm going to observe, but not with as vigorous a word-count goal--

Comments

[bazjra]

I may be doing NaNo this year. I've had a couple years off (and nothing much to show for the years that I did participate in), but I've got a couple worlds that need expanding and some characters that could have interesting journeys. We'll see.

I've been pondering this and your last entry and I've come to the conclusion that I a) don't read much of anything that has romantic-ness in it and/or b) because it is a non-interest I don't pay attention to it if it does show up and thus I can't remember it ever existing in the book. :|

I know I don't like it where there is a romantic interest just because. The random 'oh hey I think we are more than friends now *kisskiss*' that seems like the author put it in on the sly without anyone noticing. Where there's no depth to it. I guess? Not sure if that really makes sense.

[idiosyncreant]

NaNo! Oh, NaNo. It's a hard one, because I think it just doesn't fit some peoples' way of writing, so they find it frustrating and for MOST people it's an exhausting boot-camp. You have to have the timing right in your life, to a certain extent.

It was cool to see myself pound it out, and it's nice to look forward to focusing on writing at the same time as other people, so that's why I'm doing it in spirit if not in concrete detail. I like the conversations with my friends, as if it were Novel Hunting Season.

Incidental romance is a cop-out, this is for sure. If not set up, or making sense in the context, it feels like "Oh and people like this, so I have to put it in, whoops".

Which kind of robs it of any merit it has part of the emotional landscape of a book, and of providing character development moments.
I think I really need to work on this aspect myself...

[beth_shulman]

Oh yes, manipulative. Also shallow. Also super super alpha-male, in an expect-the-women-to-faint-and-need-protection way.

[idiosyncreant]

That kind of thing is less of a romance, and they are less of a love interest, than some kind of victory, while they are some kind of emblem.

[beth_shulman]

Absolutely! I hate when it's passed off as romance, though.

[rhinemouse]

I think my great love-interest hate--besides manipulation--is when one of them is always correcting the other and always Right. Even if I do happen to agree with the Right one, and even if the Wrong one feels okay with it, that dynamic just leave a really bad taste in my mouth.

A romance where both of them call each other on their crap, though . . . FAVORITE THING EVER.

[idiosyncreant]

That is *so* obnoxious! Way to set up a working relationship [NOT!].

Since my favorite dynamic in romance-plots is when they really have give and take and make each other better (not just one direction) obviously I agree! A waste of space.

I don't think I've come across enough of those (in novel-form) to really have it as a peeve, though.

And in shojo manga, there are a whole bunch of essentially flawed romance lines that as long as I don't feel every single Japanese girl must be being raised to marry sociopaths because it's in so many, or feel that it goes too far into glorifying men who are abusive... I'm reading it for the mental vacation provided.