Monday, July 28, 2014

Overheard on . . . Romancing the Genres

"We're proud to welcome members of our military for early boarding at this time. We appreciate your service."

Quick... picture a military novel. What do you see? A helicopter swooping low over a battlefield? A group of men crouched low in a bunker? A sexy female JAG officer questioning the ethics of a good-looking lieutenant?

Or.... two friends, dressed in uniform but jumping on-board a flight for a quick break in Arizona?

Sure, it is easy to fall into typical stereotypes when we write. One of the very positive purposes of using a stereotyped character or situation is that it saves words.... the reader automatically knows where we are going with something and so we, as writers, can move on to a bigger plot point or more important character.

Of course used as a main character or main plot point stereotypes become cliché, trite, and shallow. This is why putting our characters into an unexpected environment, or finding an unexpected character in one of our settings, provides depth and interest to our stories. At the same time, this isn't always easy to do. It requires that the writer take time to really understand that character or that environment.

I'm thrilled to say that in August Romancing the Genres gets to spotlight a bunch of Military writers who do just that. They have taken the time to delve beneath the surface of what military (whether in character or environment) means, and draw us into that world through excellent writing.

Come back in August for these guest bloggers:
08-02 - Matt Buchman
08-09 - Linda Lovely
08-16 - Terry Spear
08-23 - Jessica Scott
08-30 - Catherine Mann

And learn more about the reality of the military.... early boarding privileges and all.

2 comments:

Judith Ashley said...

Very true, Deanne - our guest bloggers in August have a variety of viewpoints on the military life. And I'm pleased to say they are not cliched, trite or shallow! I always appreciate your "shout out" for the next month's guests!

Sarah Raplee said...

Thanks for the amazing introduction to our August Guests!