Midweek #ROW80 Check-In

I hesitate to say it, but I think I’m finally getting back into a groove.  After a couple of days with very low word count over the weekend, the last two days, I’ve hit 1k+ each day, and I feel like I’m sort of shrugging back into the story like a favorite pair of jeans.  Yesterday I hit on a really important detail for the shero that will very much control how she goes through the relationship arc of the book.  There are 10 days left in the month.  I’ve got 3 and a half new scenes to write to get to the 22k chunk I wrote before I stopped to replot.  And then there are changes that need to be made in that original chunk.  Depending on how things go, it’s not outside the realm of possibility that I could get through all those changes by March 1st, so that’s the new short-term goal.

In case you missed it, this week’s recipe is for Lemon, Rosemary, Garlic Chicken and Roasted Veggies.

Lemon Rosemary Garlic Chicken and Roasted Veggies

Yesterday I did some pontificating about the 50 Shades franchise and the issue of character agency.  There’s some link love for a number of posts I’ve read the last week, and I also pose the question of why there are so many books/movies/series out there that are ragingly popular, wherein the shero has no character agency.  I think there’s been too much dichotomizing of the issue and name calling, implying that the women who enjoy these stories are somehow deficient or stupid or [insert whatever derogatory remark], and that’s totally not cool.  This is NOT about bashing those women and their preferences.  People have the right to like what they like (as long as it doesn’t hurt anybody else).  I pose the question, NOT to insult women who are actually into this stuff (“stuff” being, in this case, stories wherein the shero has little to no agency, wherein the plot mostly happens TO her, not because of her), but because I’m truly trying to understand the appeal (’cause I totally don’t get it).  This is a much broader question than the issues of sketchy consent and abuse dressed up as romance brought up by 50 Shades.  So if you’ve got time to pop over to yesterday’s post and enter the discussion, please do!

3 thoughts on “Midweek #ROW80 Check-In

  1. I think winter does that for everyone. Good to hear progress is being made.

    Been reading about the 50 Shades saga. Trying to think if I am going to read them or even watch the movie. I haven’t read the Twilight series, although I watched the movie (with the rifftrax version) and can’t stand them. I think 50 Shades shouldn’t be so popular,. but until I read or watch the movie, I do not have a full opinion. I have so many other books and movie to read and watch that 50 shades is so low on the scale.

    1. People have lots of reasons for not reading/watching them–quality of the prose, subject matter, just generally not their thing–which makes it particularly awkward that it’s such a huge social phenomenon. There are lots and lots of posts and such out there with excerpts of the book, talking about how it glorifies abuse as romance (I’ve shared plenty myself)–and a friend of mine pulled the context for those quotes from the actual book for me, and it completely changes the tone/meaning (and none of those particular examples were actual abuse within the context they were written). Even in context, I don’t think Grey is any kind of hero/role model/good guy, but context changes the nature of the discussion. Since so many of us (myself included–I just can’t read present tense) won’t actually read them, it makes it very easy for the discussion to turn into something simplified into an us vs. them bash session.

  2. Great discussion. My take – I’m not interested in 50 Shades stuff at all ( although I do read erotic novels) so I don’t read it or won’t watch the movie. Each to their own. But I do not accept abuse in a relationship.
    Congrats on writing so much. Great feeling when that happens.

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