I first read this book a couple of years ago, and I picked it up again recently while I was on holiday. Rainbow Rowell is one of my favourite writers, and it was easy to remember why as soon as I started reading; her characters are so unique and solid, and she writes with incredible emotional wisdom. This particular book of hers follows Georgie McCool, a TV writer with two kids and some slight marital issues. When she turns down Christmas with her kids, her husband and his family in order to work, she discovers a magical connection to the past through a yellow rotary phone in her mother's house. One of the many reasons I love this book is that I love the complexity of its portrayal of love and relationships. The protagonist's sister at one point asks her how she knew that her husband was the one, and although I won't spoil it for you I will tell you that the response is extremely well-put, realistic, and romantic without being romanticised. So many romance stories- and despite the couple being established from the start, this is a romance- are overly sentimental and rosy, with simple and perfect happily-ever-afters, or tragic endings despite overwhelming love. In reality, no relationship is perfect, and there is no such thing as a completely easy relationship- just easier-than-others. Rowell admits this, and isn't afraid to reassure you that although that is the case, it's always worth it. Another thing about this book is its sense of humour. As a TV writer, Georgie McCool makes lots of references, many of which I personally didn't understand due to the age difference between myself and Georgie, but which did not detract from my enjoyment of the book. Her reaction to having a magic phone is completely realistic and funny- it's frankly a ridiculous plotline, and one which is acknowledged as ridiculous. But because of this, we're in on the joke, laughing with Rowell, and thus able to enjoy the story without obsessing over thoughts of 'this makes no sense'. The supporting characters always serve to provide both comedy and emotional weight, and it's the balance between these two elements that provides the captivating tone of this book. Despite the use of the magical realism genre, this book is one of the most honest accounts of love I've come across. Its protagonist isn't perfect, she's a full, complex human being who it's easy to root for. All its characters, in fact, seem like fully-fleshed people, and it's easy to get absorbed into the story. The LGBTQ+ representation is welcome, too. Key Words: Funny, Romantic, Realistic, Magical Special Prescription*: When you need reminding that all romantic relationships are complex and difficult, but worth it. Or when you need to be informed that writing for TV is a real career that people have. *A time when this is the perfect book to read for your situation/mood. Image from Good Reads.
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If you've read my post Writing Tips from Around the Web: Sitcom you know what this post is already. If not, basically in this series I collect writing resources and advice from around the internet on various topics to provide a jumping off point for anyone who is interested in writing that sort of story and is looking for tips. This time, we're looking at ensemble casts. 1) Springhole: Basic Tips to Write Better Ensemble CastsThis article is quite short, but as the title suggests it covers the basics of writing ensemble casts. They're points that seem obvious when they've been pointed out to you, but until then can easily be accidentally overlooked. At the bottom of the page there are some useful links on character development and diversity. 2) Publishing Crawl: Tips for Creating an Ensemble Cast Of CharactersThis one focuses on a few specific ways to develop your characters and make sure they're distinct from each other. 3) Skeleton Keys: A Lesson from Joss Whedon- How to Write An EnsembleThis article takes its advice from the film The Avengers, written by Joss Whedon. 4) Script Mag: Three's Company- Writing the Ensemble PieceA great overview of how exactly ensemble-cast films work, with examples. 5) Pace J. Milller: Fantasy Writing: Creating an Ensemble CastThis one is specifically about using an ensemble cast in a book (which is understandably more difficult than in a film.) 6) The Breakfast Club (1985) and Pride (2014)These are two of my favourite films (Pride being my top favourite), and I think they're both excellent examples of ensemble casts, though quite different. The Breakfast Club has a very small cast, and focuses almost equally on five very different characters in one location over one day. It's often pointed to as an example of a well written ensemble cast with unique and contrasting characters. Pride is considerably less well known and has a much larger cast, but I think manages to deal incredibly well with this large cast, giving each character moments to shine, with no scenes wasted on characters the audience doesn't care about because we are made to care about everyone (except maybe Margaret Thatcher). One scene with Mark and his ex is one I particularly love because it doesn't give you all the answers, because Mark doesn't have the screen time. It just gives you enough to know there's history, and leave you imagining what happened, rather than leaving you frustrated at the lack of answers. I think watching both of these films would be beneficial to writing ensemble casts, but also (if you're writing a film) reading the screenplays, which I've linked to above.
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