I'm still mulling over the Smalltown idea, and that possible angst angle... It's something that stems from a 'category' romance novel I once wrote, that never got published. It would have been published if the publisher hadn't folded just before the deal was signed... so the plot must have stood up enough in that book.
Basically, it's that the heroine had a trauma in her past, some kind of assault that colours the plot to a certain extent. This doesn't 'have' to have happened to her... but the idea of it has been floating in my mind since that other book. This current plot idea could work if she's had a totally harm free life, and be dealt with a slightly different way, but this idea of a harrowing event in her past would bring a deeper layer of emotional significance. However, I don't want the story to veer too far into the heavy, dark, emotional trauma and wither-wringing area... I want the heroine to have dealt with what's happened to her in a fairly healthy way and to deal with the ghosts of her past in a way that allows her to remember them but at the same time face them without going to pieces. The event in her past affects her... but it hasn't crippled her ability to have fulfilling relationships.
Any of that make any sense at all? Thoughts?
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Telly: Master and Commander extras/CSI:NY
Chocolate: no choc, walnut cake instead
Mood: okay
Writing: thinking about Smalltown
Reading: various
RSI/FMS: wrists a bit sore
2 comments:
I don't think that by having a 'past event' it would spoil the story idea. Like you say, it adds layers and many erotica novels need to have something 'more' to the story to think about, than just the erotic tension.
Plus the fact that this idea has grown in your mind as you mull things over, indicates that it has at least 'some' merit, or you would have dismissed it instantly.
I say...go for it!
Hmm.. It's a tricky balance to strike, isn't it? I suppose you want to focus on the heroine's character as it is *now* rather than the events that might have caused her to be a certain way.
Maybe focussing on how the experience has made her stronger is the way to go? Stronger but maybe less open, something? I certainly like the sound of deeper emotional significance, and I'm sure you can pull it off, Wendy.
Afterwards, maybe you can fix my snarledy nightmare of a book for me... ; )
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