Steph was explaining Rocky moments as pertains to romance novels - that moment at the end of the book when - perhaps slightly over the top - love trumps every obstacle. The hero or heroine stands up to fight for thier mate. I'd forgotten this moment - in the romances I loved years ago - the Rocky moment was standard and I think in recent years, because it is so over the top the Rocky moment has fallen by the wayside. Which is too bad, because I love that Rocky moment. And I was reminded of how much I love it when I finished Eileen's Dead On Delivery.
It's not a total romance Rocky moment, she's not standing up for her guy, but she is standing up for herself in a way that was (I'm going to be a little vague in an effort not to spoil anything, because you should totally read this book)
1. Totally believable and yet absolutely subtle. I saw all the negative things she felt about herself, but I just ran with it as part of her snarky sarcastic tone.
2. High stakes - it was absolutely life or death and that's not an easy plot point to get into a book. Though if the book is about things that go bump in the night, it's a little more plausible.
3. Highly effective...I heard the upswell in music, I saw her coming to the center of the ring, broken and battered but with the Eye of The Tiger. I cheered.
So, how about you? Do you miss the Rocky moments? What was your favorite and can you think of one in recent memory?
4 comments:
I LOVE the Rocky moments! And you're right. DOD did have one of those moments. Loved it there too!
Another great one was Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows... I mean even Rocky never came back from the death.
But it's that moment, when all is lost, when you think that this couple can't possibly survive, that they come back and defeat the odds.
Something you do so well Molly. Can't wait for people to read your single contemps and see those Rocky moments.
Because you're right. When I think about the romances I've read they really don't have those over the top moments anymore.
Oh, Dead on Delivery is the next book I'll read after Divergent. Can't wait.
It's funny, when I was reading the post, I wasn't reading "Rocky" as in the movie, but rocky as in difficult. But I guess it's the same thing. Gee, I wonder if Stallone chose that name for his character with that in mind or whether it was subconscious. He did write that screenplay, didn't he?
The Rocky moment is hard to pull off w/o being melodramatic. But when authors to pull it off. Awesome.
There is nothing better than a great Rocky moment.
Over the top has gone by the wayside, replced by self-aware snarkiness. I miss the over the top as well.
I'm so glad you liked it! It was a huge kick to write that scene. I'm trying to figure out what the Rocky moment in the next one is going to look like now. :-)
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