The other day
I watched “Romancing the Stone” (1984) with Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas
for the umpteenth time. It’s one of my favorite movies. It’s got lots of action
and adventure, a little mystery, romance, and my favorite – humor.
I’ve read
several posts about character growth in mystery series, and this particular
movie is a shining example of growing and changing.
Joan Wilder starts out as a shy and introverted best-selling romance
writer, who quickly becomes involved in traveling to Columbia to rescue her
sister. Elaine has been kidnapped and she’s being held for ransom in the form
of a treasure map that her murdered husband sent to Joan for safekeeping.
When a sinister
stranger, who also wants the map, makes sure she ends up on the wrong bus, heading
in the wrong direction, Jack T. Colton comes to the rescue, and a romance blooms.
But that’s enough
about the story. My point is, Joan is placed in situations that she has no
control over and she begins to grow and learn more about life and herself. She
discovers that she can deal with adversity. She does what she has to do to
survive. Thankfully, Jack is there to help, but he’s not a super hero. He makes
mistakes along the way, just as a real man might. He seems to be overly interested in that treasure map, too.
By the end of
the movie, this shy and introverted romance writer becomes confident and
outgoing. This is what the characters in our books need to do, too. In a
series, you can drag it out a little, but in a standalone book, you’ve got to
make it happen before The End makes an appearance.
Sometimes
what we’ve faced in our everyday lives, or in the lives of someone we know, can
work in a story. It can be as simple as meeting someone who takes an instant
dislike to you, or it can be something as disastrous as a mugging, or worse.
Let’s say
you’ve gone to the bank on payday with a friend. As you’re leaving the bank
your friend is grabbed and thrown to the ground while her attacker is yelling
something about the FBI, but said attacker is actually going for her purse.
They’re struggling on the ground, your friend hanging on tightly to her new purse.
Mugger or no mugger, she’s not letting go of her wonderful new leather purse.
What would
you do?
Confession:
This happened to me and a friend many years ago. After hesitating briefly, I
knew what I had to do. I’ve always been known for carrying large purses – make
that huge. I raised it in the air, ready to slam it down on the perpetrator’s
head. He glanced up just in time to see what I was doing. I guess the purse was
scarier than he was because he jumped up and ran to his car, laying rubber when
he pulled out of the parking lot. He left behind a fake badge and pager. Fingerprints?
Yes. And I got the license number of the car he was driving. No, I wasn’t
actually a heroine. I was a mighty scared woman with a big purse.
Side Note: I
didn’t realize I’d been yelling until several firemen from a firehouse around
the corner came running. Ah, one of life’s little rewards. Two single young
women and a hoard of firemen. But I digress.
I used this
instance, with a few changes, in one of my books. Yes, in real life this
incident caused my friend and me to change our habits. You wouldn’t think that
would have made changes in our lives that would last throughout the years, but
it did.
When writing,
think about how a single instance might have changed your life or the life of a
relative or friend, and how it made you grow. Put this knowledge to work as you write.
That’s it.
That’s all I have to say this week. If you haven’t seen "Romancing the Stone", I
hope you’ll take the time to watch it.
Until next
time, think about actions and reactions you’ve seen and put them to work. Learn
a lesson from them.
CLICK HERE to
visit Marja McGraw’s website (to hopefully be updated soon)
CLICK HERE
for a quick trip to Amazon.com
How Now Purple Cow – A Bogey Man Mystery is now available in both paperback and ebook
versions.
What
could purple cows and elderly spies possibly have to do with each other? The
Cross family can answer that question.
What a fun post! I loved Romancing the Stone too. I chased a gang of would-be-rapists away from the girl they had with a big purse too. Swung it around my head like I was going to let loose of it to nail someone. Fortunately they relaed the girl and all ran away.
ReplyDeleteMarilyn, I'm so proud of you! Sometimes we have to react and we need to do it quickly, and you did. : ) Awesome! Thank you so much for commenting!
DeleteGreat post! I loved that movie too, Marja. One way or the other, life constantly presents us with material to write about. All we have to do is keep our eyes and our ears open - and our purses ready. :)
ReplyDeleteLOL Good one, Pat! I always have my purse at the ready, as I'm sure you do. Look out world! Thank you so much for commenting!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteSorry. Accidentally deleted the comment. Will write again.
DeleteWow, thanks for this interesting insight about the working of an author, Marja...! Your post has made me realize that the phrase 'fiction is based on reality' is not so far fetched as I used to believe. And that though it’s true that authors do mostly use their imagination and creativity to make up stories and characters ...but I guess it also make sense that they would sometimes use real life events in their books as well...! Anyway, thanks for the movie recommendation. It seems like something I may be able to enjoy with my husband :-) By the way, this story about chasing away 'would-be-rapists' is commendable. However, I know of such incidences when things have gone horribly wrong. So big purse or not, please everyone, be more careful in the future...!
DeleteYou'd be amazed at how many scenes are based on real life, but we usually give it a twist or two. I hope you enjoy the movie because it's a lot of fun.
DeleteAs far as chasing away criminals, sometimes there's no other choice. We do what we have to do, although you're right, it doesn't always work out. Thank you so much for commenting!
Actually this is a very serious issue. It's true that at the time of such incidences, we act on impulse and in a grip of emotions. Which I guess is natural enough, considering that we are only humans. However, afterwards, at least, it is our responsibility to honestly analyse whether we were correct or not. So that we can learn and next time hopefully do better. After all, character growth is as important in real life as in fiction...! In fact, even more so...! For example, to risk our lives to save another or to prevent someone from getting raped. That is necessary, brave and commendable. However, I know of a young man. A brother of a friend of a friend. Who got shot to death while resisting a mugging. In retrospect, it is an awful tragedy ...and totally worthless ...that a human life should get destroyed just to prevent a cell phone from getting stolen. So yes. Sometimes it is necessary put our lives at stake. But only when the cause is worthy...!
DeleteI have to agree, Ramla, but so often we act out of instinct. I don't think in most cases we think far enough ahead to realize we're risking our lives. I'm very sorry to hear about the brother of your friend! That really is tragic. I don't know what I would have done.
DeleteYes, you are right about that. Especially in moments of stress, we behave emotionally and instinctively ...instead of thinking rationally. And it varies from person to person as well. Even I don't know what I would have done when confronted with a gun. My father was also once mugged by two men at gun point. Fortunately he kept his head. And quietly handed over his cell phone and cash instead of rashly resisting out of panic. Needless to say we were all shaken. My father most of all. But we just thanked God that nothing worse than some material loss occurred.
DeleteYou've probably heard of the "fight or flight" reaction. It's not usually something we have time to think about. We either run or react. Thank God your father made the right decision. The loss of a phone and wallet is so much better than the loss of life. Thankfully, the mugger we encountered apparently didn't carry a gun.
DeleteMy mother, on the other hand, is very emotional and gutsy in similar situations... Once chased a would be intruder with a stick ...fortunately all ended well. But then. Thankfully. He didn't have a gun...!
DeleteAnyway, when we consider such events as happening in a book. Even then. Most of us readers don't usually prefer the protagonist to behave in a stupidly rash manner. Or rush recklessly into dangerous situations. We appreciate courage. But we also desire a reasonable amount of intelligence...!
DeleteEven in books, sometimes the characters have to act rashly because they don't always have time to sit down and think things through, just like us. And just like your mother. She didn't have time to think it through before she chased the intruder away with a stick. However, fictional characters can have regrets afterward. : )
DeleteYes, you are right ...but the best thing that I love about fiction is ...that it all ends happily ...thanks to you wonderful authors :-)
DeleteSometimes things happen in real life that are unexpected and our reactions equally so. A date once pulled a gun on me and that's all I'll say about that except I did manage to get away. The scene ended up in one of my novels. On another note, there is a famous author who was one of my favorites until I realized that her characters weren't going to grow and I stopped reading her. However, since it's been several years since then, maybe she did let her characters change. I probably should check into that.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you were in an extremely frightening situation, and I'm glad you were able to get away! I've read books where the characters didn't grow, too, and it becomes boring it they never change. The books seem to sell anyway, so I guess sometimes it doesn't matter. Thank you so much for commenting!
DeleteGreat story, Marja. I also carry a large purse, which my husband teases me about. It's heavy because I live in the outback and carry surival gear, especially during the winter. If I hit someone in the head with my purse, he probably wouldn't survive. I also agree with your premise that a novel character should grow and change during the progression of the plot, even if it's simply his or her attitude.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jean. I know what you mean; the bigger the purse, the more we tend to carry. We're prepared for just about anything. We grow and change, so it makes sense that a fictional character would, too. Sometimes I think it's those changes that make the books fun to write. Thank you so much for commenting!
DeleteI love Romancing the Stone and the sequel too. I carry a huge bag as well that my husband likes to joke that whenever he sees it, he thinks I'm leaving him. He calls it luggage. But I don't carry any clothes in it, just 4-5 books, a notebook, pens, lots of papers, etc. So I don't know what he's talking about. Anyways, glad that event worked out the way it did. And how it reinforced that change must happen within a character or what else what kind of story are we reading. As readers we read to follow the lives of a story's character and witness their change as the story unfolds. That's what makes good reading, watching and wondering how a character(s) will change.
ReplyDeleteI don't carry clothes, either, Lidy, but I can accommodate just about any need, from aspirin to scissors. : ) I agree that we want to follow the lives and changes in a character. That's half the fun of reading. Thank you so much for leaving a comment!
Delete