Pretty People - Ugly Actions

The beautiful villain.

                               [photo courtesy: Flickr Creative Commons; 28 Misguided souls]

We've all read or watched them on telly. The gorgeous, sexy but inexplicably nasty villain.

In fairy-tales as children nearly all the villains were ugly. The hideous witches, the ugly stepsisters, the revolting trolls and ogres - all domineering and tormenting the beautiful Rapunzel's and Cinderella's of the world. Children tend to relate better to the ugly villain - an individual that evokes revulsion and horror through looks alone. As we grow, the villain's ugliness matters less. As you hit the tweenie age bracket, the villains can become more physically appealing - the Ice Queen in the Narnia Series for example. She is beautiful, but flawed. She is icy and her cruel nature is what the reader finds abhorrent. By the time we are reading as teenagers, we've learned that sometimes the shiny apple is the one with the rotten core.

The beautiful villain is an interesting device used in writing. The beautiful villain exists on the premise that "beauty is only skin deep". This is a notion we are reminded of constantly as self conscious teens - but ignore completely as we rocket into our 30's and beyond.  In a world of  plastic surgery and airbrushing, beauty and what it hides is an intriguing concept. We all know that those perfect A-list celebrities without a single frown line are all screaming primadonna's, manic-depressives or weirdo's in their spare time don't we? Or do we just hope they are - as we sit in front of our computers in our pyjama's googling their images?

As it is human nature to compare oneself to another, I think readers get a little sick of flawless heroines with whom they cannot relate. So, I see the beautiful villain as miniature rebellion of sorts! A rebellion against the commercialised and unattainable image of beauty. The lustrous skin (without any dry patches), the flawless brow and the breasts that never sag are more or less unattainable to the average individual. So using that flawless beauty as a clever veneer to hide what lurks beneath, is automatically engaging.

 The fact that beauty (in the West at least) has become so commercialised, has changed a few things in modern literature. We like our heroines to be pretty, but its perfectly acceptable if they're a little plain or chubby - because it makes them real. This is not to say that all heroines must be ugly and all villains must be beautiful. The trick is to make characters readily believable and accessible to the reader and make them want to read.

Using a beautiful villain is sure to engage readers, but only when written with tact and care. Lets face it as I go to bed with a good book (after smearing my face with wrinkle fighting cream) I get a little kick out of knowing that 'plain jane' eventually gets her guy, and the obnoxious silicone Barbie doll finds that Ken has run off with the Kewpie doll!

Ummm. I think your fly's undone...

The socially awkward moment...

                                                                [photo courtesy - me!]


Well, last night I was out at a function, and a woman - whom I had never met - had her fly undone. It was obviously undone, dreadfully, embarrassingly undone. I noticed it from the other side of the room - kind of undone.

What did I do? Well, I am very ashamed to admit, I did absolutely nothing. I was paralysed by embarrassment for her. Please let  me say that, ordinarily, I am not backwards in coming forwards. Normally, I would tell a lady that her dress is in her knickers, and would always point out that bit of parsley in your teeth - so why on earth couldn't I say something to this woman?

Well, thinking back on it there were three main reasons for my doing nothing.
First and foremost, she was a gruff, rough sort of a woman who might just as easily have twisted off my head and used it as a teething toy for her baby.
Secondly, she was also a very large woman, and drawing attention to her open fly would also have drawn attention to her ample stomach.
Thirdly, she was a newcomer at this function and I didn't want to point out her fly was undone  and socially cripple her in a crowd of strangers.

Really there couldn't have been a more awkward moment. I seriously felt damned if I did - and damned if I didn't - because I really feel I should have said something.
Anyway, this whole situation got me thinking about socially awkward moments, how they are created and how often they are used in writing.

As recent experience has told, the awkward moment doesn't need much to give it rise.
I have created a formula for it.

Social pressure + normal/polite behaviour    =  awkward moment
       potentially embarrassing situation


I am currently reading (for the 100th time) French Relations, by Fiona Walker. I love it, it's a great bit of chic lit. The main character Tash French is a very socially awkward woman - and yesterday's incident would have fitted well with the book.
 French Relations, is filled with some really awkward stares, hairy bikini lines, and women who cry and look ugly.

I really do enjoy the socially awkward scenes in novels and try to put a few in mine. They're funny and just about everyone can relate!

Having said all that, I next time, I won't fold to my socially inhibited embarrassment and will tell them their fly is down!

Fantasy Food

[Image courtesy Flickr Creative Commons,  cuttlefish ]

Whether it be a molding old hamburger or haut cuisine - what your characters eat, or do not eat, is important in world building - well I think so anyway.

In fantasy and paranormal romance, food is sometimes a forgotten entity. I have read entire novels where the characters seem to require no sustenance at all. That's not to say you should harp on about eating all the time - that would be annoying, but the occasional mention of what your characters are eating can be fascinating.

How a someone reacts to food, divulges a great deal about that character and the world in which she/he comes from. For example; you know someone who delicately devours Brussels Sprouts has absolutely no tastebuds and was probably born in the 1940s or 1950's - as we all know anyone with a "modern palate" finds them as tasty as a boiled fart.


Did I really write that?! Haha! If you're the exception, please leave a comment and I may reconsider my opinion!

Anyway, another interesting way to develop characters is not only describe the food they choose to eat, but the way they eat it. Recently I was in Malaysia, and I watched with fascination some locals eating their curry and rice with their fingers. My children however were horrified to see people eating with their hands. I hurried to explain that here it was completely normal to use your hands and mush up your curry with your rice and gently spoon it with your fingers into your mouth. So how a character breaks up her dinner roll, or how she spoons her soup gives that glimmer of insight into her personality that the reader would miss out on if you hadn't mentioned it.

Having said that, I once read a entire page on a character peeling and eating orange - it was mind numbingly dull. I personally didn't find it added to world development, character development or any development other than the author's own sense of literary snobbery. Sometimes you can over do a good thing.

Used in balance, however, food is a great way to show your readers things without telling them. We all need to eat, and it can create common ground for the reader to relate to even the most difficult character.

So if you're looking for a new ingredient to add to your writing recipe - try food!

Boom boom!

:D

Music as a muse.

[Image courtesty FlickrCreativeCommons, takacsi75 ]

As a writer, I have particular songs that evoke characters and scenes. Sometimes I will listen ad nauseum to particular songs that help me write a scene.  For me, the songs I repeat frequently are usually one of two types, the power ballad, or the upbeat feel good song or a blend.

One of the first novels I wrote (at the ripe old age of 15) was a fantasy called Tears of a Warrior,  and you can just imagine the kind of song that was written to! It was "Dreams" by the Cranberries (you can watch it here) Still when I hear that song, it brings back memories of those characters and their amazingly traumatic lives (writing is such a fantastic outlet for teenagers and God Knows I lived vicariously through my characters!) As I listen to the song now, it fills me with the desire to write - it is incredible to me how interlinked music becomes with my writing.

So, as I am now writing about Genies, I am filled with a love of Arabic music. Some of this music is absolutely magic and some of it is absolutely bizaare. I spend hours trawling through Youtube to find songs I love. I am completely obsessed by two particular songs. "Habibit Albi /The love of my heart" by Joe Ashkar is just devine - check it out here. I think the clip is so cheeky and I love this man's voice. This song tells me that my hero and heroine will get their happy ever after!

My second favourite is a female Lebanese singer called Cyrine, with her song "Law bass fi aini /If he looks in my eyes" (here). This song is just gorgeous (and so is they guy in the clip (except his eyebrows could do with a bit of work!)

There are countless other songs that are set to repeat on my listening list whilst I write and they range from Regina Spektor's "Fidelity"  and Chairlift's "Bruises" to any one of Bryan Adams' power ballads "Have you ever really loved a woman?"

I have always been a great lover of music, and have played piano since I was five years old. I think music has the ability to bring joy or sorrow, and using its emotive qualities can enhance what my imagination creates. I couldn't do with out my playlist whilst writing!

Happy listening :)

The Anti-hero and the rise and fall of heroic virtues!

                                        [image courtesy: Flickr Creative Commons;  yosoyjulito]

 My ever faithful Collins Concise Dictionary (2001) defines the antihero as "a central character in a novel/play/etc who lacks the traditional heroic virtues."

Traditional heroic virtues are those that you'd expect a typical hero to possess; prudence, bravery, moral fortitude, and a sense of justice. The antihero therefore, is a character lacking these virtues. Instead of being prudent, he can be rash, instead of being brave, he can be cunning, instead having moral fortitude, he can be amoral and instead of being just can be corrupt. Subsequently the anti-hero can be a lot of fun to write!

I have noticed a rise in the antihero in recent years, characters such as Hellboy, Dexter, Le Stat and many more, are all non-conventional "heroes". Their behaviour ultimately is for good, but aspects of their personality and behaviour are definitely far from the realms of 'heroic virtue'.

Despite all this, the antihero must be redeemable (or if not redeemable at the very least likeable!) He should not do anything so heinous as to be unable to restore the readers faith in him. This is where ulterior motives are important. Those bad things your antihero says/does - need to have a good ulterior motive behind them. A traumatic childhood, a painfully failed relationship that has bittered his personality can be good reasons too. Oftentimes however, the antihero is simply forced to do bad things by someone else - but the reader and other characters are almost always unaware of these reasons. The true reason for the antihero's anti-heroic behaviours is usually revealed at another time. 

Why exactly the antihero has become so popular is a bit of a mystery to me - perhaps it has something to do with the global climate of suspicion and scepticism that has brought rise to these flawed heroes. I don't know. Either way, the Antihero is not only fun to write, but great to read. A good hero with antihero tendencies is intriguing and will keep the reader turning pages, guessing and predicting until the very end!

Magical Gains - the cover!

So, I was seriously nervous about getting my cover-art. Having spent some time really looking at other covers for various books, I realised that a good cover is truly an art form.

Being a book about a Genie, I was envisioning a hairy man in a fez and bolero jacket with a greasy smirk on his face... However, my cover artist Dawne` Dominique has surpassed my greatest expectations. The cover is lovely and I am absolutely thrilled.

I'm feeling energised and excited again - which is how it should be I think. Not a Fez or bolero in sight!

Here it is!

Searching for a HellCat!

[image courtesty: Flickr, Creative Commons, greenmelinda]

So, I've been looking for a new mythical beast to throw into my latest book. I have long toyed with the idea of using the Cockatrice - but the name amongst other things puts me off somewhat. My faithful Collins Concise Dictionary (2001) defines the creature as "a legendary monster part snake and part cock - that could kill with a glance." I just bet it could! Haha! Seriously, it's a wonderful mythological creature but alas, not exactly what I am looking for.

So, what creature? I need something beastly but not with human intelligence. It needs to be animalistic and primal. I also need something that I haven't read in any other paranormal story...  The list of useful beasts is shrinking. I could use some bizarre foreign mythological beasts, but many of those without human intelligence are benevolent and kind and I want something nasty. So...what about a Hellcat?                                                                                                                                                                                           

From what I've read (and it's remarkably little), Hellcats' seem to be  modern mythological creatures, used in Fantasy Gaming and that kind of thing. It's possible that they were created to be the opposite of Hellhounds, (if you've got a hellhound, you've got to have a hellcat, right?)

Hell hounds are generally devilishly large black dogs with glowing red eyes and are an omen of death. If you look up Wikipedia, you'll find that many countries have their own version. I do like the Hellhound as an interesting mythological beast, but some of my favourite authors have already used them. Laurell K. Hamilton in her Merry Gentry Series, and also JK Rowling. Remember Sirius Black from Harry Potter? His animal form was a big black dog, and they all thought he was a Grim or Hell Hound. It's interesting to note that the name Sirius, is actually the name of the Goddess Diana's head hunting dog  (she had a whole pack of them, there is even a constellation with the name) - you've got to love JK Rowlings cleverness!

Anyway, I digress!

I like cats. I even have one. The clash of super soft coat and intensely sharp claws is bizarre and conflicting. They are also intelligent, but without mercy. I love their unpredictability. One minute they are so snuggly and gorgeous and the next they are fuzzed up like a baby stegasaurous and racing round the house, yowling like a demented baboon. (Or maybe that's just my cat!?) The Hellcat in my opinion would personify that insane aspect of the feline personality - its incomprehensibility.

So here's to the re-birth of the Hellcat - (not the Cheerleading group, or the aeroplane), but the real deal. Big mean and nasty, with eyes that reflect the very fires of hell.

Sweet. I'm there. :P