 |
| Jane with Heather Locklear. |
Once again, it is time to get into the Way Back Machine and discover what exactly is hidden in my blog's archives.
Published January 7, 2010, here is a writing game courtesy of
Jane Porter.
***
Several years ago,
Jane Porter spoke at my local
RWA chapter, the
Rose City Romance Writers.
I'll
be honest. Jane's blonde, gorgeous, petite, skinny, and looks about
sixteen. I was consumed by envy. Then she gave a brilliantly
inspirational speech about where your writing fits in the market.
I was expecting something very business-like, maybe a breakdown of the different publishers and what they tended towards.
Instead,
she talked about the roots of your writing- the fables, myths, and
fairy tales that consumed you as a child. What could you listen to over
and over? What were those themes? What keeps coming up over and over for
you?
The fairy tales didn't reveal that much about me, I thought. I picked.
- The Seven Swans: I chose discipline, faithfulness, and sewing shirts out of flowers (transformation) as the themes I loved about this story.
- Aladdin : Flying, courage, and risk.
- Sleeping Beauty: Disguises, awakening to a new reality, and (what the hell) fairies with personalities.
I really flailed with these. No common themes seemed to emerge. Then we went to mythology. I chose:
- Medea: Revenge, justifiable wrath, a woman who controls her life, a woman who kills, escape
- The Golden Fleece: Powerful allies, justifiable wrath, travel
- The Aenead: Rising from the ashes, travel, new starts
I suddenly realized why my attempts at light-hearted romantic comedy failed miserably. I had much darker stories inside of me.
I
focused on the story that began, "She swam in an ocean of blood"
instead of "Lola blinked." I'm pretty sure we can all tell which first
sentence is far more attention grabbing. :)
(That's not the first sentence anymore, by the way ;).
Myths,
fables, legends, and fairy tales are our playground. They provide the
archetypes, the symbols, and the language for our lives.
Play the game with me. What are the stories that have haunted you? What themes do you carry inside of yourself?
When you comment, you are entered into a drawing for one of my stylish and sexy dragon necklaces.
