5 Movie Types that Influence my Blogging

Today is the first theme-day of the 2012 WordCount Blogathon: Five Movies that Inspired my Blogging.

I love movies, second only to books as a choice for entertainment, so I was thrilled to see this theme day. Instead of picking five specific movies, I've picked five movie themes.

Source

Young Adult Books Turned Into Movies
My oldest daughter and I are avid readers, so we share books. It's a way to strengthen our mother-daughter bond. Plus, I've found some great reads this way.

Since I often write about my role as a mother, these shared interests make perfect blog posts. The most recent example was Hunger Games (I hope to have a review up soon). My daughter and I talked for hours about the books and couldn't wait for movie. We did the same with Lightning Thief, but then we were disappointed in the movie.

Related Post: Family bonding, Hunger Games style

Reimagined Fairy Tales
Who doesn't love a fairy tale? Lately, movies (and TV with ABC's Once Upon a Time) like Mirror Mirror, Snow White and the Huntsmen, and Red Riding Hood remind us that even the most beloved stories can be reimagined.

I often struggle to cover new ground in blog posts. I need to remember that I can post about even the most popular subjects, as long as I put my own spin on it.

Related Post: Mirror Mirror

Superhero Movies
Last summer was filled with them, and we didn't miss one. Thanks to my husband's determination to have the girls love his toys, my girls are infatuated with superheroes. We even saw Avengers this weekend (another review I need to get done).

These movies serve as a great reminder to write what you are passionate about. The successful superhero movies tell a good story about well-loved characters. They also realize you can't just bank on a known commodity, such as superhero fans. Blog posts are the same. You can't bank on people coming back if you're content isn't worthwhile.

Women's Movies/Chick Flicks
I'm not a fan of the terms chick flick or chick lit, but I love a movie or book that showcases women's issues and relationships. However, a formulaic chick flick is not for me. I'm not willing to watch a movie just because girls meets guy, guy isn't ready, coincidences happen, man finally falls hopelessly in love. I prefer some depth, wit, and chemistry.

I try to write about women's issues and the wonderful gift of the bonds between women, so these types of books and movies greatly influence my blog and my writing.

Related Post: I am Woman, Hear Me Roar: For Shoes?

Movies That I Should Have Quit
Have you ever wanted to walk out of a movie because it was so bad or not what you expected? Did you? I usually don't, hoping beyond all hope that it redeems itself (It's even harder for me to put a book down). But there are several movies I wish I had walked out on.

There are so many blogs out there to choose from. Our posts should be honest, up to date, and believable so people don't choose to go elsewhere. It might be hard to leave an $11 movie, but it isn't hard for people to click to a new site.

Related Post: You Had Me at Goodbye: Movies I Should Have Quit

What do movies teach you about posting? Or better yet, about life?

I'm Campaigning to Build a Platform

Don't worry, I'm in no way entering into any kind of political career. Although maybe I should, some days I think we should clean house (both sides) and start over. But, I digress...

I am joining Rachael Harrie's Writers' Platform-Building Campaign. I was late checking in on some ROW80 participants Wednesday and happened across an Alberta Ross post about the campaign. Thanks, Alberta. I rushed over and signed up in the nick of time. I'm playing catch-up, but looking forward to connecting with authors in YA - All genres and Women's Fiction/Chick Lit.

If you are a fellow campaigner, please leave a comment and introduce yourself.

I am Woman Hear me Roar, for Shoes?

We won an award, we won an award . . . so exciting, but let me get back to that in a moment.

Mom and I wrote a book about something very near and dear to our hearts: the many female relationships in our lives, particularly the relationship between mothers and daughters. The publishing and marketing world require "labels" for products. You need to define what you are selling before you attempt to sell it. I get it. I'm not a genre-specific reader, so I don't personally need a book to be labeled. I need a good friend recommendation or great back/inside cover detailing the story.

Caving to industry standards, we set out to define our novel. This was particularly important for submitting to awards contests. We didn't want to be in General Fiction, because we'd be competing with everything. And, although so many elements of our lives creeped into our finished work, we are not a memoir. The term "Chick Lit" seemed the best choice, but I had a hard time giving into this classification.

Prior to researching, I definited Chick Lit as any book about whiny, self-absorbed women who only cared about shoes, clothes, purses, jewelry, the right man, and the right purse-sized dog. The big reveal at the end: the woman realizes she is more than said things, but she's not willing to live without them. Don't get me wrong, there's a time and a place for fluffy beach reads, but I don't read them often. And I really felt our book offered more.

Off to the computer I went. I simply typed in "definition of Chick Lit" to see what bounced back. The best of what I found:

The World English Dictionary defines Chick Lit as a genre fiction concentrating

on young working women and their emotional lives (as modifer: chick-lit romances).

The Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary defines it as stories

written by women, about women and for women to read.

And, finally, Wikipedia, says Chick Lit addresses

issues of modern womanhood, often humorously and lightheartedly.

Each of these was problematic in some way. Our two main characters: a stay at home mom and a thirteen year old. The stay at home mom is hard-working for sure, but not the "young working woman" this definition alludes to. And I wasn't sure the definition of modern womanhood, but our story is set in the 1980's so probably not a fit. We are humorous in several parts, but it does not define the novel. I could wrap my head around written by women, about women and for women to read. But does that mean Nicholas Sparks for all his sappy, emotion-jerking books does not qualify for Chick Lit?

I needed more than a definition. So I kept searching. I found blog after blog trying to define it. Yeah, I wasn't the only one confused. Time and time again, I saw the face of Chick Lit as Sex and the City. I know I'm in the minority here, but I've maybe seen two episodes of the TV show, never saw either movie, and did not read the books. Our book would not speak to someone looking for more Carrie Bradshaws. More adjectives seemed to circle around the term Chick Lit: fluffy, happy endings, romance, contemporary, hip, stylish...

Then I found two quotes. One from an author (Roberts) I've turned to time and time again when I needed some "down-time but not trashy" reading and one from an author I know little about.

"Chick Lit uses humor to reflect life back to us. It's a very comforting genre..." Marian Keyes

Oh, we reflect life, but I don't know how comforting life's reflection is at times.

"Women's Fiction is a story that centers on a woman or on primarily women's issues, not necessarily the romantic relationship based books I do but the woman's story." Nora Roberts

Now, this I like, but the term is Women's Fiction and not Chick Lit (although the article quoting Mrs. Roberts stated it was the best Chick Lit definition she'd read). I like Women's Fiction and would embrace defining ourselves that way, but it's rarely used and I'm not sure it's interchangeable with Chick Lit.

In the end, we defined ourselves as Chick Lit for our submissions. There was even one award with the category Chick/Women's Lit. I don't like labels (not helping my Chick Lit cause!). Still, it must be a fit, at least in the eyes of the Next Generation Indie Book Awards. We were just named a Finalist in the Chick Lit category (winners and finalists will be officially announced on their site on Friday, 5/20). Shiny stickers, here we come.

I'm not sure I have a better handle on what Chick Lit really means. I'd like to think it centers around stories written by women (prefer to "chicks"), about women and for women to read. Women define themselves in many ways. They can be a stay-at-home mom, a business woman, or anything in between. So it stands to reason "their" literature is varied in its definition.

Still, I couldn't help but chuckle at my favorite quote about Chick Lit:

"If we call Bridget Jones's Diary 'chick lit,' why don't we call

The Hunt for Red October 'dick lit'?" Gloria Steinem

We'd love to know: How do you define Chick Lit?