We're talking about our favorite movie kisses in Seekerville as August 25th, and National Kiss and Makeup Day approaches.
I've been converted to the swoon-worthy kiss from North and South. What about you? (Best Period Drama Kisses from Lady Victorian)
We Have Winners
Be sure to contact us if you are a winner (send an email to seekers@seekerville.net with your snail mail address unless email is specified). We don't have time to track you down. Do let us know if you don't receive your prize in 6-8 weeks. Rules are located here, on our legal page.
Monday we welcomed bestselling and Christy Award-winning author DiAnn Mills! "Where is Your Warrior?" Writers march to their computers every day to battle with words. If you doubt your fighting skills, DiAnn provided ten ways you can find the warrior in you. Kathy Albright is the winner of DiAnn's new release Firewall.
Tuesday we welcomed back Love Inspired Historical author Sherri Shackelford with her post, "Are We Selling Books or Selling Out?" Heidi I and Heidi Robbins are the winners of The Cattleman Meets His Match!
Award winning Love Inspired Suspense author Debby Giusti shared, "Reflections on RWA 2014," on Wednesday, with information she gleaned from the conference, along with her observations about why RWA is a conference worth attending. Winners of Debby's newest release, Mission: Christmas Rescue, featured in Holiday Defenders are: Tracey Hagwood, Wilani Wahl, Sherida Stewart, Misty Gaoutte-Clarkson, and Walt Mussell. Congrats! Debby reminds everyone who likes her stories to please consider posting a review!
Thursday we welcomed Vickie McDonough with tips and tricks on "Writing Historical Dialect" Winners of Song of the Prairie are Doreen and Helen Gray.
Friday we celebrated with Astrea Press debut author Chris Lorenzen! Chris inspired us with her first sale story, "It All Started Because I Wanted to Meet Debbie Macomber." Oopsie- Cindy W is the winner of of her e-book, A Husband for Danna.
Next Week in Seekerville
Monday:Maybe She's Born With It.... Nah. Probably not. Tyndale author Pam Hillman is your hostess Monday and she wasn't born fast, but she was born thorough. Pam's on a mission to increase productivity, whether that is in writing books, blog posts, answering interview questions, cooking dinner, or ... you get the drift.
Tuesday:Montlake Romance and Indie author Sandra Leesmith will talk about how a rejection letter can be a great thing. Yes, there are such things as wonderful rejection letters. Join us and lets discuss how that can happen.
Wednesday:Multi-published author Pamela Tracy will join us with the suspenseful thriller, "Curious Case of the Rabid Reader."Join us for a fun interview with the author.
Thursday:Today we'll talk setting with Love Inspired author, and 2014 Carol Award finalist, Mindy Obenhaus, in "More Than a Setting" and she’ll be giving away a copy of her September release Rescuing the Texan’s Heart.
Friday: Seeker and 2014 Carol Award finalist Tina Radcliffe is back in rehab. Writer Rehab. Her series continues with: "Salvation for the Plotless Wonder."
Then join Tina Friday in the Yankee Belle Cafe for a yummy Burrito Bowl!
She'll top it off with birthday cake as she joins the gang at Stitches Thru Time who are celebrating their blog birthday. Tina's post is called, "Guarding Your Growing Work," and she's giving away a birthday present of course!
Exciting news! You can now get a digital subscription to the Love Inspired book lines delivered automatically to your e reader. Details here.
Get The Scoop on One of the Newest Romance Imprints! - Interview with Managing Editor, Sandie Bricker (Novel Rocket)
Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 Nook Review (PW)
Reading Literature on Screen: A Price for Convenience? (NYT)
Valley of the Sun Romance Writers Group will only be accepting entries for a few more days and they are LOW ON ENTRIES!! More information on how you can enter can be found here.
Don't forget the Phoenix Rattler closes to entries on August 29th. Details here.
The Amazing Book Race: We pitted Amazon vs. Google in a same-day delivery test, and this is who won (GeekWire)
The 15 Habits of Highly Successful Authors and Writers (The Publishing Profits Podcast Show)
ALS ‘Ice Bucket’ Challenge an Unprecedented Viral Hit, Christian Celebs Get Wet for the Cause (Christian Retailing)
New Pure Amore imprint to promote abstinence (Christian Retailing)
Publishers Are Giving Away Bestsellers For Free (The Book Insider)
Agent Steve Laube is speaking at the Desert Rose RWA on Tuesday August 26th: MONTI'S LA CASA VIEJA. 100 S. MILL AVE., TEMPE 85281 (Non members welcome to up to three meetings before joining.) Agenda: 5:00 p.m. | Optional Dinner & Networking-6:00 p.m. | Business Meeting, Reports, Announcements, Roses & Quills & Raffle | Book Signing | 6:45 – 8:00 p.m. Main Program will be: Today's Agent: Changing Times 101
There's One New Book on Amazon Every Five Minutes (Passive Voice)
That's it. Have a great weekend!
CONGRATULATIONS, winners!!!! Tina, it looks like you've got another great week following a wonderful WE! Have a great one
ReplyDeleteWoo hoo, I won a book! Just in time for my reading binge!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations too other winners.
Some interesting links. I checked the ebook subscription plan. Love Inspired books are listed, but not Heartsong. :(
The 15 habits of successful authors was insightful. As was the one about free bestsellers.
I'm blown away at being right there next to Tina in the Soul Inspirationz releases.
Got the coffee pot timer set.
I love Ellie Whyte and Soul Inspirationz. What a sweet gal she is, and what a gift to the authors!!!
ReplyDeleteGO ELLIE!!!!! THANK YOU!!!!
Gosh this is chock full of good stuff. Love it!!!!! I'll do links later when I take a break from writing. That will clear my head for finishing up.
Caramel coffee this morning, and then I'll lament that nothing fits but gosh, it sure tastes good!!!! Go, Caramel Coffee!!!!!
Oh, wait, THE KISS....
ReplyDeleteWell, from that beautiful compilation, I'm going with North and South (#6) although, I love the dance scene at the end of Persuasion, but it wasn't a fave movie of mine....
And I didn't like that version of Pride and Prejudice, too abbreviated, I love, love, love the A&E version oh my stars....
But let's go modern too!!!!
SIX MINUTES OF KISSES!!!!
Congratulations to all of the winners.
ReplyDeleteFavorite movie kiss???? I have to think about that one.
I'm a North & South girl too. Though I'm also partial to Enchanted. Love that movie to bits...maybe because of the talking animals? And it's hilarious, but romantic too.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great WE. I'm off the farmer's market -- wheeeeee!
Oh -- and how can we forget the classic kiss scene in Lady and the Tramp? Totally tail wagging!
Great weekend. Congrats to all of the winners.
ReplyDeleteI'm reading Stranded With the Rancher now and really enjoying it.
Have a great day!
I'm having the carmel coffee this morning too, but sugar free :)
ReplyDeleteI"m Happy to be one of the winners of Debby's Holiday Defenders book!
9 a.m is too early to watch all those kissing videos but I did it ;) First, Tina's posted video, then Ruthys, then more youtube stuff, etc. That North and South kiss definitely gets my vote in the historical category. Another one that was sigh worthy was an oldie, One Night with the King, it's a short kiss then a cut away to overhead and Esther and the King standing on roses. Just a very romantic scene.
TINA, why does your Tues. blog title, "Im peddling as fast as I can" have me thinking of that bike scene from the Wzard of Oz with that dramatic music playing in the background? :)
My Anniverary is 8/25 and now Tina tells me it's also National Kiss and Makeup day? I hardly know what to say to that!
You and me Helen. All the way, pal.
ReplyDeleteHaaa, now I have that music from the Wizard of Oz with the actress who plays the witch and who took Toto, riding down the road on her bike.
ReplyDeleteTracey!!!
Ha, funny your anniversary is the 25th. Happy Anniversary.
Jackie~! New photo. Love it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading my book.
Coffee first. Then Ruthy's kiss stuff.
ReplyDeleteNo sweet stuff in my java.
Cream only, please and thank you.
I am so not awake.
Love that huge LI poster! :)
ReplyDeleteHmmm, the kiss. Well, let's see. While not a movie I care to see again, the parting kiss in Cold Mountain when Inman goes off to war.
North and South is my favorite movie kiss too! So. Good. It's hard to think of one better.
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to reading Sherri's book! Thanks so much!!!
Have a fabulous weekend ladies!
Sorry TINA, couldn't resist the Oz scenario, praying it leaves your thoughts, and quickly :)haha
ReplyDeleteThanks for the Ann. Wishes. I'm still smiling at what I see as Gods sense of humor, to marry at 18 to a 19 yr.old who I had next to nothing in common with, on a day to be later called Kiss and Make up day. We've had our share of differences and done our fair share of making up. After 40 yrs, we've settled into a comfortable companionship that develops afer years of perserverance and being about to set the bad aside, enjoy the good and laugh at ourselves ALL the time!
Tracey! You nailed it. That is exactly what marriage is. Only the wise figure that out.
ReplyDeleteWaving to all those who won HOLIDAY DEFENDERS! Hope you enjoy my story, "Mission: Christmas Rescue," as well as Susan Sleeman and Jodie Bailey's novellas. All the stories feature military heroes!
ReplyDeleteFavorite kiss in a movie? Probably "Sweet Home Alabama." Such a special movie. Love the kiss on the beach in the storm. Be still my heart. Must watch the movie again...tonight, perhaps!
Thanks for the WE, Tina! I got sidetracked clicking links and almost forgot to come back to comment! :)
ReplyDeleteHope you all have a great weekend!
That is a great movie kiss! My other fav is in Hope Floats. Love it!
ReplyDeleteDebby, I'm one of your winners, thank you so much,can't wait to read it!
ReplyDeleteTEENNAA(that's hello with happiness Ruthy style) I just received my RWA
Swag stuff, 3 New books included, one of them one of Debbys, what an embarrassment of riches, THANK YOU SO MUCH
Congratulations to this week's winners, and happy anniversary, TRACEY! Forty years--congrats!
ReplyDeleteAnother super WE, TINA--thanks!!
Finished our housecleaning and bill paying this morning, and now I'm cleaning out a couple of filing cabinet drawers in my office. My, oh, my!!! Am I a pack rat or what!!! I have newspaper clippings I've been saving for story ideas since the 1980s!!!!
Um, can you spell O-U-T-D-A-T-E-D???? Well, a lot of them anyway. And my research files? Just as bad. Most of this stuff, I'm sure, could easily be found on the Internet and save me a whole lot of drawer space!
Favorite movie kisses are the one from North and South, of course, and Penelope. LOVE LOVE LOVE that movie and that kiss at the end between Penelope (Christina Ricci) and Max/Johnny (James MacAvoy). If you haven't seen it, WATCH IT!!! It's on Netflix.
ReplyDeleteI also like the kisses in the Amazing Spiderman movies between real-life sweethearts Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone. LOOOOOOOVE them.
Kisses!
ReplyDeleteI think "Mamma Mia!", has more great kisses in it than any other single movie. Why Pierce Bronson and Meryl Streep show the kids how to do it!
Below: Hero makes a public declaration of having loved the heroine for the last 21 years, asks her to marry him, and with a kiss begins the fulfillment of both their greatest dreams! Kisses mean more in context and this is a world class context. Meryl Streep is really into these kisses!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_C3B7ZKwSU
Want it hotter? Below Meryl Streep tears Pierce Bronson’s shirt off under the water spout as the whole village celebrates the wedding and the goddess Aphrodite provides a climax to the movie with the eruption of her long hidden fountain of eternal love (a scene which is a little too symbolic for my aesthetic taste.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVQjFxUqHrs
Hi Tina:
ReplyDelete"I'm peddling as Fast as I Can."
Can you tell me the context for this? I’m getting conflicting mental images.
Is it about:
1) an author selling her books at the county fair from a card table on the midway with her husband on a soapbox acting as a barker?
2) A lady organist trying to play “The Flight of the Bumblebee” with her feet a blur of action as they hit the peddles?
3) Tanya in her paddle boat, as seen in ”Mamma Mia!”, trying to get away from the bartender who wants to repeat what they did last night. (Now that’s some fast peddling!)
4) Debra Valenzuela in “The Price of Victory” trying to catch up with the leader so she can win the bicycle race and her father’s respect?
Before you answer I have a second quandary:
What is meant by:
"Salvation for the Plotless Wonder."
Is this a way for you to say pantsers or plotters need to be saved? I hope not. I’ve been advised that there is no right way to write a good book.
Seriously, I’m trying to figure out what a ‘Plotless Wonder’ is.
Is it a writer who:
1) writes best sellers that have no plot whatsoever like some of the roman nouveau writers of the 1960’s?
2) A super pantser who writes best sellers without ever plotting in advance – not even using a smidgen of plotting?
3) A writer who is a fallen-away plotter who needs to rejoin the fold?
You can probably tell not much 'work work' came in the mail today.
Ciao Dive:
ReplyDeleteSome Saturday Thoughts
I like to read at least five romances at the same time with each book just a click away on my Kindle. This lets each story compete with all the others for my attention. This is my cure for the ‘sagging middle’ or a ‘lagging storyline’. Reading like this lets me experience first hand how a drop in the rewards per page can lead to a lessening of reader interest.
Here’s an observation that may be of interest to writers. Yesterday, three of the five books I was reading mentioned that when the hero walked into the room, the room shrank in size and it was like the air was sucked out of the room. All three books, by different authors, use almost the exact same words! The other two books probably also have the same imagery – I just haven’t got there yet.
This ‘sucking air’ is such a vivid image, it is not one a writer can get away with using without seeming like it was copied.
All five books, by the way, have heroes who, at some point in the story, replace some stray hairs back behind the heroine’s ear. Now I never did this when I was dating. I’d love to see some new ways for the hero to touch the heroine.
Could a hero look at the heroine’s nose, say she has the cutest little freckles, touch them with a finger, and ask if it would be okay if he kissed them? Imagine the emotions this would stimulate in the heroine!!! Just an idea. : )
Oops, I was supposed to send something to Pam.
ReplyDeleteBe right back!
Speaking of plotless, I recently read a book and it was charming and well written but just sort of a meandering character sketch.
ReplyDeleteThen, at the end, all of a sudden THERE WAS A POINT TO IT ALL!
I remember thinking, "Huh, never dreamed this was going anywhere."
I wonder if they author did that on purpose or by accident?
I mean wrote such a plotless book. Could that have been her intent?
Mary C ... That plotless book you read -- what kept you reading?
ReplyDeleteNancy C
Wow, did you read the comments at The Passive Voice? A book ranked 750 to 1500 is selling 100 to 120 books a day! I had no idea.
ReplyDeleteGood links, Tina. I might need to work on some of those habits of successful writers :-)
Congrats to all you winners -- and wishes for a good weekend to everyone.
Nancy C
VINCE you are toooooooooo funny. I am laughing so hard after reading your comments.
ReplyDeleteGood assignment. I'll think of new ways for hero to touch the heroine. If I can stop laughing about all the peddling scenarios and plotless wonders. ROFLOL
Okay one of my favorite kissing scenes was Burt Lancaster on the beach in the movie From Here to Eternity. Well that was until hubby and I were on the beach and guess what? Kissing on the sand is NOT ROMANTIC. Movies can make anything look good. LOL
ReplyDeleteKiss scene on the Beach
And I don't want any comments from the Peanut Gallery about how old this makes me.
Congratulations, winners!
ReplyDeleteSoul Inspirationz rocks! So great to see come many titles written by so many folks I KNOW!!! WooHoo!!
I'll get with you on my favorite movie kiss :) This is going to take some deep thinking.
Happy Anniversary, Tracey! Enjoy your special day!!
ReplyDeleteKav.... I LOVE ENCHANTED, TOO!!!!
ReplyDeleteBest dance scene ever when they're at the Kings and Queens Ball....
Oh my stars..... It's magical! Now I'm giddy! :)
Wizard of Oz music....
ReplyDeleteI much prefer the North and South music!!!!!!
But the sight of that old witch, fast-peddling that little bike, oh what a visual! We all remember that scene!!!!
You know what love scene I love? It's the one from "A Town Like Alice" when Jean Paget comes to meet Joe and he doesn't know how to talk to her, how to treat her until she puts on the kimono that reminds him of Malaysia.... And then they kiss....
:)
I love that book, that movie.
VINCE!!!!! YOU ARE SO RIGHT!!!!
ReplyDeleteOh, gadzooks, why the heck don't we see this stuff ourselves?????
We need you, big guy!
I don't think I've ever shrunk a room or sucked the air out of it because a hero leaves... but I've done the hair tucking thing....
Now my take on that is that clearly more men should do it, if women like it... I mean that's a no-brainer, right????
But the freckles thing, I stole that and used it someplace because Nora Roberts used it in a book and it was memorable. I'm not above borrowing from the best.
But you're right, my friend! Oh, so stinkin' right! Now I need to go back and re-read this novella (so little space, so MUCH STORY, UUUUUGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!! I'm challenged, big time!!!!) and see if I've used the best emotion-packed scenes possible.
Darn you, Vince Mooney!
Just you wait, Vincent Mooney, just you wait! You'll be sorry but your tears will be too late! (My Fair Lady, they totally ruined the ending of that story when they made the movie. Boo, hiss, Hollywood!)
Vince, you've stoked me for my Sunday morning read-through. Thank you!!!!!
Thanks MYRA and AUDRA for the well wishes, so sweet of you both!
ReplyDeleteOkay, fine. I checked. I did do the hair thing TWICE in Stranded. Did not do the sucked thing. I did a word search on sucked. I cannot believe I checked.
ReplyDeleteVince, you are making us paranoid.
LOL. Now I had to go search for "sucked" so I can say I have...
ReplyDeleteNo room sucking.
But Vince, remember, sometimes editors will suggest phrase changes because our phrase is perhaps... not as familiar, or as evocative as they feel it could be. There are "stand by" phrases some books use. Readers like them and find them familiar.
And sometimes when an editor rewrites your perfectly original phrase that took you fifteen minutes to craft to something you've seen a hundred times, you nod and smile, nod and smile.
Sometimes, there is no stet.
Oooh, great article on 15 habits of highly successful authors!
ReplyDelete"If they get rejected 100 times, they continue to submit their manuscript until it gets published or just self publish instead. If they have to go through another rewrite, use a new pen name, or write a new book, they’ll do it. Professionals don’t let anything stop them, especially not a victim mentality or a negative attitude."
"Pros publish quickly. They don’t wait until the timing is just right or the book is perfect, because they know the timing will never be right and there are no perfect books (at least, none that have been published yet). Yes, they go through many edits and rewrite often, but they don’t get stuck in the editing process. They realize if they want their writing to actually be read, they have to publish it sooner rather than later."
I'm sure devil's advocates will say "but we must persevere!". Not if it's not working. Move on!
And I'm sure some will say "pros would never publish something imperfect". But... nothing is ever perfect. Again... move on!
Such a great article! It's taped to my wall now.
Are we all clear? THERE WILL BE NO MORE ROOM SUCKING.
ReplyDeleteHi Sandra:
ReplyDeleteTruth be told, I was going to pick “From Here to Eternity” but I thought probably only me and the other Seeker friend, who is almost my age, would know what I was talking about.
And no, it does not date you, unless, like me, you saw it at movies when it came out in 1953. I think it was rated ‘morally objectionable in part’, but I went anyway.
I watched the clip again and now what I see is a heroine who reviews the kiss even before her lips are dry!
We see what is behind our eyes.
Tina, now I feel guilt and have to confess...
ReplyDeleteI found a lot of BREATH SUCKING.
A lot.
I'm ashamed of it.
Now there will be heaving bosoms, constricted chests, tightened throats, and sharp inhales... but no sucking in of breaths.
I vow no more.
Room sucking is ok if you write Sci-Fi. Or horror. I use the hair pulling too often along with touching the face ect. In real life that would make most women angry because they spend lots of time on makeup and hair. They don't want a guy messing it up.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea about a freckle kiss. It would be so cute I might steal the idea. it would be perfect for my college age romance. My Dad was a little shocked at my writing kissing into my books. (I'm not talking Julie Lessman style either. I'm talking Grace Livingston Hill.)
Favorite Movie Kiss: I honestly don't know. Maybe the scene from Jane Eyre 1980 or perhaps the scene from "Making of a Lady". The rest of the movie is kinda campy but the first half is awesome.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sTv99RsOc4
By the way in the above clip the characters are married so it isn't as shocking.
Hi Elizabeth:
ReplyDeleteYour comment made my day this morning! I’m happy you agree that many women would not want a guy messing with their hair in real life. I always thought placing a stray hair back behind the woman’s ear was making a negative comment about her grooming.
When I was dating some women would spend hours working with their hair to give it that wild ‘free’ look. Besides that stray hair will be back down where it was within minutes. I thought it was a sign of being a controlling guy, someone who would not like her for who she is and who wanted to remake any woman to match his image of perfection. Of course, back then there was a lot of bra-burning and feminism going on. Alan Alda was the new ideal man. So I was very surprised that Ruth thought women liked that kind of thing. Of course, I don’t know if women do or not like it. Freud said that women were not understandable which provided a firm foundation to the idea of there being a ‘feminine mystique’. Over the years I’ve discovered that ‘feminine mystique’ is like having ‘a get out of jail’ card! Women are really, really smart.
I also wonder if you are married because I watched your kissing film clip and a passionate kiss is even more shocking if the couple is married! In that way, I think Julie Lessman’s most shocking kiss is between the two married grandparents, Patrick and Marcy. They are in a bedroom(!) and she has put on her sexiest nightgown to seduce him! Now that is shocking! (I have my master’s in Lessman. They don’t offer a PhD yet, or I’d have that, too. :) )
Thanks again for your comment. It has me thinking happy thoughts as I start a new week.
Vince
For some reason I just love that you can make a HEART with your hands.
ReplyDeleteWe once got a 'pregnancy announcement' postcard and it was a close up of the mom-to-be's belly (fully clothed) and her hands shaping that heart and in the middle of the heart one of those pregnancy tests with the plus sign or turned blue or whatever they do. It was pretty cute.
Nancy C....it was an interesting book, sort of. And I'm always inclined to finish any book I start, though less so than I used to be.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite TV Kiss was when Remington Steele FINALLY kissed Laura Holt after about TEN EPISODES of yearning and bickering.
ReplyDeleteVERY Satisfying.
Hi Ruth:
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the nice comments. I looked at both yours and Tina’s movie clips and then I reviewed Julie’s “Romance-ology 101” book again in light of what I saw in those movie clips and I am now trying to discover how to apply the best elements of those cinema kisses to the written word. This is the kind of thing that a language philosopher likes to do. I hope to have some ideas soon to share with all you’se writers. : )
Hope you go on to have a great Sunday!
Vince
P.S. Did I get 'you'se' right? I don't remember how you spell it.
Ruth Logan Herne said...
ReplyDeleteYou know what love scene I love? It's the one from "A Town Like Alice" when Jean Paget comes to meet Joe and he doesn't know how to talk to her, how to treat her until she puts on the kimono that reminds him of Malaysia.... And then they kiss....
:)
I love that book, that movie.
--------
Ruthy! "A Town Like Alice" is one of my favorites, too! Did you know it's classified as 'an economic development and romance novel'?? Where do they come up with these things?
Nancy C
Tina…Alert!
ReplyDeleteMore Casus Paranoiae
Cinema Kissology 101 – Part I
I viewed both yours and Ruth’s kissing film clips. I also viewed a few others on YouTube. I noticed that the viewing experiences were very different from reading the rather stylized kissing scenes often found in romance novels.
I wanted to know what the main differences were between the cinemagraphic and reading experience. I also wanted to learn if some of the cinema effects could be carried over to the written word.
As an exercise I looked at various film kisses and then tried to write down what I was seeing (or being showed). Hopefully being aware of these differences may help authors write fresher and more rewarding kissing scenes. (This by taking a different approach.)
Next I went over Julie’s “Romance-ology 101” once again to temper what I was seeing with a genuine expert on the written kissing experience. Here are some of my initial observations:
1. There are no ‘inner thoughts’ or feeling given in the film versions. (Are they needed? Are they overkill? Think of ways to show inner feelings without giving the hero and heroine’s thoughts.) Isn’t it possible that the reader’s vicarious feelings of what the heroine is feeling from the kiss, are more potent than the writer’s explicit description of her thoughts?
2. The film scenes are full of facial expressions that are not expressed in writing. Humans read faces amazingly well. The viewer can see desire, hesitation, anticipation, skepticism, and other emotions on the faces of the actors. Viewers don’t have to be told what the inner feelings of the characters on the screen are. These can be seen on each actor's face. (If the actor is a good actor).
3. Body language speaks much louder in the film scenes. This is much more so than in written romance kissing scenes. In writing readers may have to wonder what the hands and feet are doing or if the eyes are open or closed. The viewer can see if the heroine kisses back or if she is mostly receptive. (Meryl Streep grabs the hero’s head by the hair and pulls him towards her to kiss him. She is the one kissing him!)
There also seems to be more variety in kissing situations in film. (Of course, film is very much about what is shown on the screen). For example: the “From Here to Eternity” beach scene has the actors partially clothed and laying down next to each other. This was scandalous at the time for a mainstream “A” movie.
This film variety makes me think that kissing in romances could happen in a greater variety of locations and body positions.
For example, I’d like to see the hero kiss the heroine, for the first time, as she is hanging upside down on a trapeze bar. This places the hero and heroine head to head, with him standing and her hanging down. When he kisses her, she is so befuddled that she falls off the bar and he has to catch her in his arms.
“Why did you do that?”
“Well, I always wanted to kiss a woman who was hanging upside down and I thought this was probably my only chance to ever do it. And believe me, that kiss was no mistake. I’d love to do it again.”
SEE PART II
Cinema Kissology 101 – Part II
ReplyDelete4. There is music in the film versions. Can you write some romantic music into the novel version? There are also many camera movements that involve the viewer in the kiss. The hero's POV may just see the heroine’s ear as they kiss. The camera can also pan around the characters as they kiss. This shows a lot more of the body language. It is a POV from outside of both characters. Could a writer do this? There is also the setting which can have very romantic elements to enhance the scene: fireworks, beautiful gardens, waterfalls, stately mansions. How much of this could be translated into the written word? Saving the first kiss for a very romantic location would seem possible. With both setting and music, the film kisses have a big emotional advantage. Also I really think there is a lot more ‘romancing’ going on in the movies than in romance novels.
5. Kissing interactions also seem more powerful in the films. The hero and heroine can stop the kiss, look at each other, smile, and then go back to kissing. The heroine might raise one leg at the knee as a universal sign of swooning. Sometimes the woman raises both legs and has to hold on to the hero to stay up and not fall to the ground. At this point the hero might even spin her around and around as both of them become dizzy from the kissing experience.
6. Not a lot of talking going on. No internal reflection. What you see is what you get. Do we have too much analyzing in romance novels? Do we need to say her stomach flip-flopped or her toes curled? Also I think many movie kissing scenes end with the end of the kiss. I think this helps with the dramatic impact.
I think written kissing scenes can learn a lot from what is shown on the big screen. Translating this will be hard to the extent it has to be done differently than it has been traditionally done in the past.
Julie Lessman addresses some of these things in her book, “Romance-ology 101” which gives a list of different types of ‘situational' kisses and features all of “Chapter Twelve: Making the Most of Touch and Response” trying to show how to write what is shown in these kissing film clips.
Julie’s words mean a whole lot more to me now that I’ve analyzed the film clips of kisses. Julie’s book will tell you how to do a lot of what is shown in the film clips.
I hope this little Sunday foray into analytic philosophy proves helpful or thought inspiring to the writers who visit Seekerville. Now I’m off to aqua therapy.
Special thanks to Tina and Ruth for providing the ‘inciting incident’ for this exercise.
BTW: this post was only a few characters over the limit. : )
Vince, I need an assistant to make time enough to read that!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteOy.
I'm covered with dirt, I'm breaking apart monster-sized rhubarb plants into 4000 baby plants and I'm hot and sweaty and really DIRTY and Marcy is sucking face with Patrick and I'm not about to tell my husband there are such women in the world.
Wait.
Marcy didn't work outside the house.
VINDICATED!!!!!
Oh mylanta, I love that Nancy loves "A Town Like Alice" and who thinks up those designations????
DUMB.
That is one of the best single title war romances ever written.
Now for length, I do Herman Wouk's Winds of War and War and Remembrance, but war romance (remembering I'm not a GWTW fan) is "A Town Like Alice" Nevile Shute. Great book, great movie, Brian Brown???? OMS!!!!!! Swoon-worthy.
Virginia, I fully appreciated what you said about those scripted phrases being edited/altered.
ReplyDeleteI do a lot of smiling and nodding, and I get it.... Sometimes I go overboard explaining or implying, etc....
But yes, sometimes the new turn of phrase is not exactly Ruthy-esque.
And yet the readers love it, and that's my goal, to make readers feel the emotions of the story. That's huge.
NATIONAL KISS AND MAKEUP DAY?????
ReplyDeleteHow could I NOT know this???
See? This is only one of the MANY, MANY reasons I love the WE -- I find out things I should know.
FAVORITE MOVIE KISSES???
OH. MY. GOSH!!!!! Don't get me started!!
1.) Rhett carrying Scarlett up the red staircase.
2.) Ryan Gosling picking Rachel McAdams up in the rain and kissing her senseless while pushing her to the wall.
3.) Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard kissing in the rain with a cat between them in Breakfast at Tiffany's.
SIGH. SIGH. SIGH.
RUTHY SAID: "I love Ellie Whyte and Soul Inspirationz. What a sweet gal she is, and what a gift to the authors!!!"
AMEN TO THAT!!
HUGS AND HAPPY WEEKEND!!
Julie
Vince,
ReplyDeleteMe? Married? That made me laugh because I'm only 19 and my dating experience is null and void. As for my writing, as much as I admire Julie Lessman I can't write like her to save my life. Besides my parents would kill me. But I definitely write on the sweeter side. (Although my books can be a bit violent/depressing.) I think I have been suitably convinced that I need to buy her book on Romance writing.
TEENSTER, I know quite a few comments are bragging on the North & South kiss, which I had never seen until one of my readers BEGGED me to watch the movie, which I did. Didn't care for the movie a whole bunch, but will agree that kiss at the end (on a park bench, I think??) is TO DIE FOR!!
ReplyDeleteAnd, DEBBY ... Sweet Home Alabama is one of my faves, too. Cute, cute movie, and the hero reminds me just a hair of Paul Newman. :)
VINCE ... Mama Mia is one of Keith's and my favorite movies -- have seen it at least 15-20 times. :)
VINCE ALSO SAID: "All five books, by the way, have heroes who, at some point in the story, replace some stray hairs back behind the heroine’s ear. Now I never did this when I was dating. I’d love to see some new ways for the hero to touch the heroine."
LOL ... I never really thought of that before, but you are SOOOO right, Vince, and I am now going back into the two WIPs I have going and removing every single hair tuck over the ear. THANK YOU!! ;)
Hugs,
Julie
SANDRA, YES, YES, YES!!! From Here to Eternity is sooooo hot that it's a darn good thing there's plenty of water ... ;)
ReplyDeleteVIRGINIA SAID: "No room sucking."
LOL ... LOVE IT!! The joke, not room sucking, which I am happy to say (after reading this blog) I have never done once in 10 books, so either I'm not creative enough or I'm a loner who doesn't like to follow the crowd. :)
ELIZABETH SAID: "My Dad was a little shocked at my writing kissing into my books. (I'm not talking Julie Lessman style either. I'm talking Grace Livingston Hill.)"
LOL ... which is exactly why Grace and I don't get along ... ;)
ELIZABETH ALSO SAID: "n real life that would make most women angry because they spend lots of time on makeup and hair. They don't want a guy messing it up."
OMIGOSH!! I am SO in agreement with Elizabeth and Vince on this, only I didn't know it. I hate, Hate, HATE when anyone touches my hair, so if Keith did that, I'd slap him away.
HUGS!
Julie
VINCE SAID: "a passionate kiss is even more shocking if the couple is married! In that way, I think Julie Lessman’s most shocking kiss is between the two married grandparents, Patrick and Marcy. They are in a bedroom(!) and she has put on her sexiest nightgown to seduce him! Now that is shocking! (I have my master’s in Lessman. They don’t offer a PhD yet, or I’d have that, too. :)"
ReplyDeleteROTFLOL!!!! Your "master's in Lessman"??? You are TOO funny, Vince -- LOVE IT!! Heck, even I don't have my PhD in Lessman, but give me a few more years ... ;)
MARY!!! I just saw the following Remington Steele montage of all the kisses over the years in the series, and most of them are HOT, HOT, HOT!!! Here's the link, although I wouldn't watch it outside in 97-degree weather like I am in right now, sitting with my hot laptop in my lap, but there should be no danger in a cool room. ;)
"BEST KISSES FROM REMINGTON STEELE MONTAGE
HUGS,
Julie
VINCE SAID: "Julie Lessman addresses some of these things in her book, “Romance-ology 101” which gives a list of different types of ‘situational' kisses and features all of “Chapter Twelve: Making the Most of Touch and Response” trying to show how to write what is shown in these kissing film clips.
ReplyDeleteJulie’s words mean a whole lot more to me now that I’ve analyzed the film clips of kisses. Julie’s book will tell you how to do a lot of what is shown in the film clips."
Vince, I only have ONE QUESTION for you:
Where do I send the check?
HUGS!!
Julie
ELIZABETH SAID: "As for my writing, as much as I admire Julie Lessman I can't write like her to save my life. Besides my parents would kill me."
ReplyDeleteLOL!! Hey, Elizabeth, you're not Amish, by chance, are you? ;)
I always laugh because as God is my witness, all my kisses are are simply kisses. Lips against other lips or against ears, cheeks, eyelids, necks, collarbones and shoulders. Only ONE time did the husband slide a kiss from the collarbone down to the breastbone ... uh, okay, maybe twice ... ;)
Hugs,
Julie
Thanks for a romancy heartfelt Weekend Edition, Tina! I want to go to the beach and draw a heart in the sand.
ReplyDeleteCongrats to all our winners. A big number this week!
Next week's lineup looks great!
All this talk about kissing has me heading for my hubby. Not on the big screen or any screen. :-)
TTYL!
Janet
Oh my stars, all this kissin' talk puts me in mind of all the frogs and toads I found today cleaning out the big rhubarb patch, dividing, re-planting....
ReplyDeleteI know so many folks who've kissed a few toads, but I'm still of the mind that less is more in a lot of cases...
Julie, I saw North and South last year. I thought it was a CIVIL WAR movie, LOL! Charming, wonderful, I really liked it. But I think the hesitant kiss is the most romantic for me. The one that almost starts, then stops... repeat....
After A LONG AND ARDUOUS JOURNEY, of course!
And some kids, puppies, kittens, maybe a few diapers.
I love making romance twing and twang between the crazy of children and animals.
You can tell a lot about a guy by how carefully he handles a goat.
(Sweet Hush, Nick Jacobek, now there's a hero that won my heart...)
Julie, that montage was so good. Wow! Made me smile. Brought back such memories. I used to like the blonde guy from the first season better than Steele. But he grows on you, doesn't he? What a pretty man.
ReplyDeleteFavorite movie kisses: What a great weekend topic!
ReplyDeleteI do love the Breakfast at Tiffany's scene, but one of my favorites is the kiss between Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman in Notorious.
Loved reading what other people chose (because you can never go wrong with an Audrey Hepburn reference and movies).
Ruth & Chill N:
ReplyDeleteIf you like, “A Town Like Alice”, then I think you may love, “Requiem For a Wren,” also by Nevil Shute. I think it is a much better war time book. “Requiem” is not well known but it was a book that owned me until I finished reading it. In fact, it’s about time that I read it again.
Hi Julie:
ReplyDeleteNo need for a check. If I got paid for my genuine expressions of admiration, I would lose my effervescent sense of sincerity.
Hi Ruth:
ReplyDeleteThis was so funny:
“Vince, I need an assistant to make time enough to read that!!!!!!
Oy.”
I thought the same thing tonight when I logged on and saw these two posts for the first time since I posted them.
I don’t have the time to read them either! I even thought “Oy” except I added a “vey”.
I am however honored that you would feel that perhaps you should have read them. I just needed to write these posts to get my thoughts organized. Mission accomplished. Now if I could just get my life organized as well. : )
Of course I read them! :) But it's so much fun tweaking you as your organize that cavernous brain!
ReplyDeleteAren't our brains wondrous? Most of the time? When they work?????
Must go write, but had to stop back in here!!!!