PRINCESS HOURS- Goong

PRINCESS HOURS (#GOONG) is a wonderful Korean series I found on HULU, which I highly recommend for those of us who love YA and romantic comedies (if you watch don’t forget to click the subtitle box). From the very first episode it sucked me in and still hasn’t spat me out. I’m completely and thoroughly addicted.

Princess Hours is set in 2006, in an alternate reality where Korea has a royal family. The show revolves around Crown Prince Yi Shin (actor , Joo Ji Hoon), and an adorable commoner, Chae-kyeong (actress, Yoon Eun Hye), who, unbeknownst to them, were betrothed by their late grandfathers. When the King becomes ill, the royal family decrees it is time for Shin to marry and secure the royal line.

Shin is in love with a beautiful ballerina, Min Hyo-rin (actress, Song Ji-hyo) who rejects his marriage proposal in favor of pursing her dreams. Shin decides to abide by the betrothal agreement despite his distaste for his soon-to-be bride.

Princess Hours reminds me a bit of Pride and Prejudice with Crown Prince Yi Shin as a modern day Mr. Darcy. He’s remote, detached, and a big, fat, conceited jerk in the beginning, but over time he softens under the sweet, kindness of Chae-kyeong, who he affectionately calls Miss Airhead.

Add in the love quadrangle of his cousin, Prince Yool (actor Kim Jeong Hoon) and the ballerina ex-girlfriend--WHO WON"T GO AWAY-- and you’re in for smoldering/longing glances, heartbreaking *screams at the screen--can't you see she loves you, aaah** dramatic moments in this sweet, romantic fairytale that will leave you holding your breath, then gasping for air and believing in true love.

I loved both Shin and Yool equally, which I've found to be rare in a show. Usually, one character stands out. But, both actors did an amazing job of making their characters sympathetic. I spent the whole series rooting for both of them to win Chae-kyeong's heart and feeling guilty about it.

Has anyone watched this series, and if you have, who is your favorite character? Were you Team Shin or Team Yool? Also, if you have any series recommendations, please let me know.

SHARING OUR VOICES- DON MCFATRIDGE

I  have a special guest for Sharing Our Voices, whom I love and respect tremendously, Don McFatridge AKA DMcWild.

One of my favorite things about Don is his sense of humor. He's my go-to critique partner who cracks me up with the quick wit and humor in his current wip, PLANTED-I CAN WATER MYSELF (to the point where I'm LMAO). He also finds the funny in my manuscripts. Sometimes, I'm surprised that a particular scene I wrote has tickled his funny bone, since it wasn't intended to be
humorous, ugh oh.

Don has graciously consented to being my first guinea pig in sharing how his community influences his writing.  So, I'll zip it and hand over the blog to him. Take it away, Don!

Pie A Near Of Comedy

Living in Montreal and being one of 33 million other Canadians is great because we get to trade with our neighbors to the south below us. Things like: fresh melted snow (with most of the yellow bleached out), Captain Kirk and Scotty, sand filled with tar (you think we would give ya the stuff for free since it makes for sticky beaches, which we don’t use with our long winters), hockey sticks (with player included), beavers named Justin and our biggest seller comedians. Yes, having snow six months out of the year has given Canadians a funny bone.

But, like a good neighbor, we export all of it to the warmer climate of Hollywood. Talent like: Seth Rogan, John Candy, Leslie Nielsen, Howie Mandel, Dan Aykroyd, Martin Short, Mike Myers, Phil Hartmen, Michel J Fox, Dave Foley of Kids in the Hall, and our Grinch, Jim Carrey, to name a few. But all of these stars follow in the footsteps of Thomas Doc Kelley, Canada’s most famous pie-a-near of comedy.

Source

While performing his traveling medicine show through Newfoundland (where I happened to be born. I got hauled to Montreal, kicking and screaming, at the age of four) in 1889, Thomas “Doc” Kelley invented the “pie-in-the-face” gag. Kelley happened to catch sight of an irate cook chasing a stable boy with a piece of pie. When the pie wound up hitting the boy’s shirt, it made the onlookers laugh. Kelley quickly concluded that a pie in the face would be even funnier. Supposedly, he said to a companion, "How about a whole pie, big and juicy, deliberately and carefully pushed smack into his face? How long do you think these folks would laugh then?" 

These wonderful Canadians inspire me to fill my stories with funny scenes and dialogue. Which I think every writer should strive for, because humor sells. But it can also be a simple snappy one liner, like the gem in Elisabeth Berg’s THE JOY SCHOOL. It’s the story about thirteen-year-old, Katie, who accidentally falls through the ice while skating. She is helped by handsome, far older, married, gas station attendant, Jimmy. Katie falls in love and Jimmy loves the attention.

As their relationship unfolds, so too does Katie’s awareness of the pain and intensity first love can bring. When Jimmy tells Katie he’s moving away Katie declares her love for him.

“I think I love you.”
His look freezes.”
“No. I do, I can tell.”
“Oh, Katie. I didn’t know . . . I didn’t mean to--”
“You didn’t do it. You didn’t do it. It just happened by it’s own self.”

A few pages later Katie’s in class and unable to read what the teacher has written on the blackboard.

“No,” I say, “If you take the first line, and go all the way to the last line, that is what I can’t read.”

“So what you are saying, Katie is that you can’t read any of this.”
"Yes, Sir.”
A kind sized miracle has happened. The students in Mr. Spurlock’s class are sitting up, interested and alert.
“Well, do you need glasses?”
“No. A teacher would do.”

Bang. Katie’s answer is one of my favorites. She handled the rejection gracefully until she got to the classroom where she fires both barrels. It’s that type of snappy comeback that led me to write responses for the rejection letters I receive. Here is the one I’m currently sending to agents.

Dear Agent,

My name’s Dr. Frank. I’m writing about the rejection letter received by our patient at the Frank and Stein institute for violently insane criminals located in Montauk NY. I don’t wish to alarm you, but it seems he hasn’t returned from yesterdays day pass.

Arthur, not Author, claims you’ve misspelled his name. He’s easily recognizable at 6 feet 10 inches tall and 322 pounds. We trust you’ll take precautions by removing sharp, breakable office objects, including pens, letter openers, windows and interns.

For your safety, I’m sending you his medication (taken rectally) by courier later today.

Sincerely,
Dr. Fred Von Frank 　

Now to end this guest post with what I consider to be one of the greatest snappy comebacks of all time delivered by follow Canadian Norm McDonald on Conan O’Brian’s show. Enjoy.

R.I.P-THEO THE BEST TOAD, EVER

Did you know that when toads have a belly ache, they vomit up their stomachs? Yeah, me neither. Totally gross and traumatic for me and the kids. Usually, not so much for the toad. It’s a normal toad process from what I read on the internet.

Once their stomach is hanging out of their mouths, they brush off whatever is making them sick, and then swallow their stomach again. Theo didn’t swallow his again. I’m not sure why. Or what I could’ve done to save him since the exotic vet clinic was closed. Maybe shove it back in, that’s what some of the posts I read said to do, but…

Anyway, I’ll spare you the rest of the gory details so I don’t start bawling my eyes out again.

This is my last post for my wonderful, little toad, Theo. He passed away this morning, breaking my heart. I loved this little guy.

SHARING OUR VOICES- ANGIE SANDRO

One of the things I find thrilling about being a part of this wonderful online writing community is the ability to connect with writers from all over the world. Social media and technology has evolved to the point where disparate people, who live continents apart, remain connected by a few types on a keyboard. I find this amazing.

You see, I grew up in the military. Technically, my father was in the Airforce. But for all the military brats out there reading this post, you know exactly what I mean. We were as much a part of the military as our parents. We shopped at the commissary, went to the movies, got our hair cut, went to school, and lived—On-base.

A military base is a city in itself. It is an insular community with own societal rules and behaviors. However, it was bursting with people from different traditions and ethnicities, quite different from the culturally homogenous environment many of the adults grew up in. Tolerance and acceptance of racial and cultural differences by us kids was the norm, because it’s difficult to hate what you understand: friendship and family.

We were all part of the same community. Yet, we were also different from the kids who lived in the cities the bases were located in due to our transient lifestyle. Two years, three at the most, then it was time for the goodbyes and inevitable broken promises to stay in touch with the friends I’d made, and pack up my belongings and ship out. I moved ten times before I turned eighteen: Missouri, California, Colorado, Spain, Kansas, Maryland, Guam, Louisiana, back to Kansas where I graduated from high school. Then, to California where I went to college while my parents eventually were shipped to New York, then retired in my father’s home state of Louisiana (we also traveled to Korea, Philippines, Okinawa, Japan, Canada and Mexico).

At the new base, I’d have to make new friends. It was pretty easy, because I’d done it so often, but also a difficult adjustment. Relationships were formed, but they didn’t stick. You never knew when you’d be separated. Going to a new school meant adapting to a new cultural environment. Going to school off-base meant pure culture shock. I adapted by learning how to pick up the speech patterns, dialects, and mannerisms of the kids around me. I still do. If I’m speaking with someone who has an accent, I unconsciously pick it up. I found that it was easier for me to be accepted by a new crowd if I blended in.

I share all this to explain how my life experiences have influenced my writing. I enjoy developing characters that have distinct voices based on the cultures they grew up in. A character that grew up in rural Louisiana speaks and sees the world differently from a character from urban California. Yet their basic desires remain the same, for the most part. Still, there are differences, and it’s those differences that make the characters unique—flavorful, like BB-Q chicken vs. jerked chicken, which are totally different from baked chicken. All of which are still delicious in their own ways.

It’s these life experiences based on our communities and cultures which make us individuals. One of the things we understand as writers is the need to find our character’s Voice, which should be as distinct and beautiful from one another as we writers are from each other. The same goes for style, or maybe they’re interchangeable. It’s something I’m fascinated by, and I’d like to learn about how culture influences other writers.

So, please pop back in the future as for some very special guest posts from writers who share how they receive inspiration from their life experiences and their communities. It should be exciting.

HOW TO FIND AND KEEP A CRITIQUE PARTNER

We all know how difficult it is to find a critique partner.

First, you have to find a person who has similar interests. Ideally, they should read the kind of book that you are working on. They don’t necessarily have to love the genre, but at least not run screaming upon opening the first chapter.

Sometimes having a person who doesn’t read your particular genre is beneficial because they can provide an alternate view point from someone who is familiar with the genre. I have a wonderful critique partner who writes fantasy. She’d never read YA, which allowed her to ask questions about my ms that I’d never thought about. This ultimately allowed her to find plot holes in my manuscript that I missed. Thank you, Michelle H.

Being a partner is indeed a partnership. It’s about offering to reciprocate by reading their work. It’s about finding the good, the bad, and the ugly in a story and being able to provide a constructive critique that doesn’t demean the other person’s writing.

Hearing you suck, totally sucks! Make suggestions on how to better a particular scene by providing examples of what you are talking about. You know, the whole show don't tell. It works when giving critiques, too.

Everyone is at different stages of learning their craft, from the veteran to the newbie; yet, no matter what stage you are in, you should always be open to learning from another person’s point of view. You may not always agree with what a person suggests, but try seeing the critique through their eyes. You may be surprised.

If you think a particular critique is F.O.S., ignore that particular suggestion. Ultimately, it’s your choice which critiques you’ll take and which you’ll discard. Always remember, this is your creation. Trust your instincts. Enjoy delving into your world and displaying it to the best of your ability. Seek help when needed.

Once you find someone who is willing to give up their time to critique your manuscript, a certain thing is necessary to keep good will.

It’s called saying THANK YOU.

Two little words, but they mean so much.

Remember that the critiquer may be just as anxious about how their critique is received as you are by receiving it. Hit the reply button on that email to acknowlege that you received their critique and it didn't land in their spam box. Thank them for their time. It's the same as if you received a present. You may not totally love the gift, but at least let them know you appreciate they cared enough to knit you that ugly, Christmas sweater with the reindeer on it.

The critiquer took time from their own projects to help you. Don't take their willness to read your work for granted. Be humble. Be appreciative.

This is the key to finding and keeping your critique partners. And if you cherish them, they will cherish you.