tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post9148901201573853275..comments2023-11-03T05:49:10.841-04:00Comments on Storytelling Rules: TV and mediocre genre booksMaureen McGowanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00494408580378817045noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-84309521832981831372007-06-03T13:35:00.000-04:002007-06-03T13:35:00.000-04:00I have never quite gotten over Homicide going off ...I have never quite gotten over Homicide going off the air. (I loved it after I got used to the jarring filming effect, which I couldn't stand at first.)I think most of TV these days is too digestable, too dumbed down. The reality shows aren't "real" because of all the editing; most are just plain stupid or melodramatic. (Please, ladies, stop trying out for The Bachelor. Have some self respect.) And some shows I enjoyed at first like Grey's Anatomy ended up jumping the shark by trying to be something they're not. Why try to be ER with a cataclysmic steamliner wreck when the show's focus is on relationships?<BR/><BR/>In genre books, I like some comfort with intelligence and unique twists thrown in. There is a theory that there are actually only something like 6 main themes in most literature, and everything else is a variation. I like knowing that most or all of a crime will be solved in a mystery. In chick lit, I expect - and want - to root for the heroine; I want a promise of happiness, even if it ends with the character on her own. I want to be able to relate to the characters in some way. But it's the book with surprises along the way that keeps the story fresh. I'd like to think maybe kind of like life.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-46538811313227227702007-05-12T12:50:00.000-04:002007-05-12T12:50:00.000-04:00Kimber, I think the hardest thing to write is a si...Kimber, I think the hardest thing to write is a simple romance filled with wonderful conversations while two people figure out they're in love. <BR/>I love to read them when they're done well. But it's rare. <BR/><BR/>That's why I love Susan Elizabeth Phillips, cause she does this better than most. <BR/><BR/>And Molly. Not playing with your emotions. At least one more season of FNL. <BR/><BR/>And I'm happy cause I get at least one more season of Battlestar. <BR/><BR/>Maureen, what's making you happy?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-48785454075679355472007-05-12T09:50:00.000-04:002007-05-12T09:50:00.000-04:00WHat????? Renewed???? Why are you playing with my ...WHat????? Renewed???? Why are you playing with my emotions this way Sinead. I can't take the ups and downs of network television. Well - I am so excited about Friday Night Lights. That makes my day -- to say nothing or your nice words Maureen - thanks so much. And yes if you were a better friend... you'd buy me more drinks.<BR/><BR/>You know I love The Office - both the BBC version and the US version - but I think the changes they made in that show for the American audience are really telling. It's still so uncomfortable but the US version has warmed up the Steve Carell character so much - we cringe but we feel for him too. The BBC version we didn't do that at all.<BR/><BR/>It was a good one this week.Molly O'Keefehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15171236688541657736noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-52477620724773692962007-05-11T14:14:00.000-04:002007-05-11T14:14:00.000-04:00I could sit on the bus and listen to people talk a...I could sit on the bus and listen to people talk all day. Or hang out on the corner on a sunny day and people watch.<BR/><BR/>That's what I look for in a book. I don't need murders or paranormal activity or a roller coaster plot. Give me a good conversation between two people. Let me watch two people figure out that they're in love (the reader, of course, knows WAY before the couple but that's true in real life).<BR/><BR/>As for tv, I used to say I only watch Heroes (and my business shows) but I even forgot to watch that this week.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-84820713030839833222007-05-11T12:43:00.000-04:002007-05-11T12:43:00.000-04:00You are so right, Maureen, not just about Molly's ...You are so right, Maureen, not just about Molly's books.(I too need to do an Amazon review) <BR/><BR/>My comfort reads come from before I started writing. Now, the books I love need to be smart, gripping storytelling. <BR/><BR/>I also want to point out that we mourned too early. NBC has renewed Friday Night Lights for a full second season. <BR/><BR/>so I really have to catch up on the 1st season.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-10329600932511665052007-05-11T10:48:00.000-04:002007-05-11T10:48:00.000-04:00With books, I think I like the in between ones bes...With books, I think I like the in between ones best... That is, I occasionally like the harder to read, really thought provoking or beautifully written lit fiction books... and I sometimes can enjoy a really light genre book. But mostly I like the ones I see as in between. Books that are written in an accessible way, don't make me read too slowly or re-read paragrapsh to understand them... but which do surprise me or make me see the world a little differently, through another character's eyes or make me think when I put them down. I also like books that really make me laugh and/or tug at some emotion... That's what I love about our Molly's books. Sure, they're genre fiction, and they're easy to read, but she always has something to surprise me and she always makes me tear up at least once. (even some of the scenes I've read multiple versions of in our critique group.) and it's not always scenes in the romance... Her subplots and the issues her characters are dealing with either from the past, or with friends, or with family... Those are the ones that often really hit me in her books. <BR/>(Guess if I were a better friend, I'd put some of this in an Amazon review, eh!)Maureen McGowanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00494408580378817045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-57126441821761335982007-05-11T10:41:00.000-04:002007-05-11T10:41:00.000-04:00I think you're right, Sinead. And maybe it's that ...I think you're right, Sinead. And maybe it's that there are so many channels now, so many choices, that there doesn't seem to be room for both the mindless stuff and the deeper more interesting things (except on pay cable and even there, they aren't giving shows as long as they used to).<BR/><BR/>It seems with TV shows are either cancelled before they find an audience, or allowed to run for too many seasons such that they finally all jump the shark.Maureen McGowanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00494408580378817045noreply@blogger.com