Tuesday News

April is TV Month! It’s been a long time since we’ve seen new episodes of our favorite shows, so April is feeling like fall premiere season all over again. Here’s what I’ll be watching:

Men in Trees — Wednesdays (currently airing new episodes)

NUMB3RS — Friday,April 4 (6 new episodes)

Samantha Who? — Monday, April 7 (6 new episodes)

30 Rock — Thursday, April 10 (5 new episodes)

The Office — Thursday,April 10 (6 new episodes)

Brothers and Sisters — Sunday, April 20 (possibly 6 new episodes)

Gossip Girl — Monday, April 21 (5 or 6 new episodes; note the new night)

Grey's Anatomy — Thursday, April 24 (not sure, but there should be 4 or 5 new episodes)

For the writers out there, April is conflict month with The Wet Noodle Posse. On April 8 I'll be blogging about characters' goals, motivation and conflict, and about writing GMC statements for our characters. But it gets better!

"Along with the award-winning Wet Noodle Posse authors, we have a star-studded
line-up of guest bloggers, including bestselling authors Jo Beverley (whose new
book, A Lady's Secret, is out today!), Susan Gable, Anna Campbell, Tawny Weber,
and Christie Kelley. You won't want to miss a single day! We will be giving away
a signed copy of a Jo Beverley novel on the 24th to a lucky participant, but you
must comment to enter. So please plan to join us all month long and bring your
questions and comments to our knowledgeable group of writers."

The Posse hopes you'll join us and our guests this month for lively discussions about conflict and the chance to win some great prizes!

Talk to you later.
Lee

Those Seemingly Insignificant People

I adore secondary characters. In books, films and television, they play such an important role. So what’s the trick to creating successful secondary characters? I think it’s knowing how to push the envelope, but not push it too far.

Many readers have told me they love Aunt Margaret in my first book, The Man for Maggie. The interesting thing to me is that Aunt Margaret doesn’t really exist. She’s either a ghost or she’s Maggie’s conscience, and no one, not even me, has been able to figure out which. I do know there was no conscious effort on my part to create Aunt Margaret but when she appeared, she was essential to the story.

So how do we write significant secondary characters? Again, I look to the people who do it so well—scriptwriters.

In Gilmore Girls, Lorelei and Rory are sympathetic characters we can relate to. Luke is as steady as they come. Rory’s friend Lane is the girl next door. Then we have Paris, Kirk, Babette. Oh my. Sally Struthers as Babette. Wasn’t she wonderful? Many of the secondary characters in this show were delightfully over the top and that worked because they fit the story and made it richer.

Look at Men in Trees. Honestly, I can’t say enough wonderful things about this show’s outstanding writing. Of course we relate to Marin and Jack as the main characters, yet the cast of secondary characters is extensive and brilliantly woven into Marin’s and Jack’s story arcs. Patrick and his family mosaic. NYC editor Jane and Elmo plow guy Sam. The bar patrons. The hairdresser. The minister. The pregnant ex-girlfriend. The way-too-attractive guy who shows up to renovate Marin’s house. The show wouldn’t be complete and Jack and Marin’s story wouldn’t be nearly as interesting and without all those endearingly offbeat people.

One of my favorite secondary characters of all time is Dr. Larry Fleinhardt on NUMB3RS. Brilliant physicist. Homeless and living in his car. Astronaut. Not your average resume, to be sure!

So what have I learned? Secondary characters are integral to a story. To be effective, they should be as three-dimensional as the story’s hero and heroine. They can’t be mentioned in passing. They can’t be glossed over. They should be fleshed out and they can even have a story arc of their own, no matter how small that arc might be.

Secondary characters can be much quirkier than our heroes and heroines because the oddball provides such an excellent foil, making the main character appear normal by comparison :)

An easy thing to write? Maybe, maybe not, but do stay tuned. I’ll explore this some more throughout this TV season.

Meanwhile, I’d love to know who your favorite secondary characters are, and why.

Till tomorrow,
Lee

At Home on TV

The list of my favorite shows in the sidebar might seem a tad eclectic—dramas and comedies for adults and young adults, and settings ranging from small towns to big cities or, in some cases, stories set primarily in a single building. I’m not saying these are the best shows on TV. They’re simply the ones that have a struck a chord for me.

Different as they may seem, I see lots of similarities. Gilmore Girls (even though it’s been cancelled, it’s still a favorite), Men in Trees and October Road are set in small town America. To me, those communities are like secondary characters in their respective stories. But communities don’t have to be towns and cities. In The Office and Grey’s Anatomy, communities exist within the walls of a building. The Office’s boss Michael Scott (Steve Carell) has almost as much affection for the building as he has for his staff. Seattle Grace is practically home for the surgeon and interns of Grey’s Anatomy. In Degrassi: TNG, the community is a high school and, for the first time last season, a university.

Home and family are important factors in most of these shows. The contrast between Lorelei’s home and her parents’ home was a major story element in Gilmore Girls, and Rory eventually leaving home became a major part of the show. In Men in Trees, Marin Frist leaves her home in New York and finds a new one in the unlikely town of Elmo, Alaska. October Road is about a character returning home after a long absence and having to come to terms with what has changed and what has stayed the same. The relationship between two very different brothers and their father is an important element of NUMB3RS and for me it’s one of the things that sets it apart from most other crime shows on television. Their family home is a retreat from the chaotic, albeit predictable according to Charlie, world around them.

Brothers and Sisters is all about family. I didn’t watch it during the regular season last year, but I caught the summer reruns. At first I thought it might be too political for my taste, but that’s overshadowed by each family member’s individual story arc and the adult children’s relationships with their, um, slightly neurotic mother, Nora Walker (Sally Field).

I’m still debating which new shows I’ll watch this year. I saw the first episode of Gossip Girl and will definitely check out a few more before I make up my mind about that one. Since The Practice is a spinoff from Grey’s Anatomy, I’ll give that one a chance, too.

Any recommendations?

Back tomorrow.

Lee

Who Has The Remote?

This is my first post on my new blog. Thank you for stopping by! First, a bit about me. I am a romance author, thrilled to be writing for Harlequin’s American Romance series. Yes, those covers in the sidebar are for my first two books! Aren’t they gorgeous?

Along with writing, the most important things in my life are family and friends. Which makes American Romance a perfect place for me because that’s what these books are about—everyday people overcoming difficulties with the help of their family and friends, and finding love and happiness in the communities they call home. If you’re already a fan of these books, you’ll know exactly what I mean. If you’re new to American Romance, I hope you’ll love them as much as I do.

Readers tell me they love my characters and I’m always thrilled to hear that because creating characters is my favorite part of the writing process. And it’s so much easier than developing a plot. Fortunately, after I get to know my characters, they fill me in on their story as I write. As unbelievable as that might sound, that’s how the process works for me.

The hardest part is coming up with a book proposal to send to my editor before I’ve actually written the book. How can someone like me write a synopsis for an unwritten book when she doesn’t have the faintest idea what’s going to happen? I’ve struggled with this and finally managed to get a handle on it when I learned a little about scriptwriting and storyboarding techniques.

A TV or film script is a thing of beauty. Dialogue and a few stage directions—an entire story arc, stripped to its bare bones. It’s similar to what I might come up with if I were plotting a book, and it sort of resembles a first draft. Then I get to take off my scriptwriter’s hat and become the costume and set designer, director and camera operator as I flesh out the story. That’s the fun of being a novelist!

I still have a lot to learn and believe it or not, and watching my favorite TV shows is part of the process. I’m especially looking forward to this week because many of the season premieres for those shows will be on.

The Office (NBC) (one-hour season premiere!)—Thursday, September 27
Grey’s Anatomy (ABC)—Thursday, September 27
NUMB3RS (CBS)—Friday, September 28
Whistler (CTV)—Saturday, September 29 (only in Canada)
Brothers and Sisters (ABC)—Sunday, September 30

My top fav, Men in Trees (ABC), doesn’t start until Friday, October 12. Still three weeks away, and I’m trying very hard to be patient.

Every week I’ll blog about my take on what I’ve seen, why I love these shows, and what I’ve learned. I may discuss what I as a writer might have done differently, but I’m not a critic so don’t expect in-depth analyses and critical reviews. Also, don’t expect Hollywood gossip—it’s not my thing.

From time to time I’ll also post news and reviews about my own writing, and there’ll be the occasional guest blogger and even a contest or two. And of course I’d love to hear your insights and recommendations or anything else that’s on your mind, so drop by any time.

See you tomorrow.

Lee