So I mentioned a couple of weeks back (I think) that I was going to try writing something different. Now, I'm not giving up humorous, contemporary, romance/mystery hybrids, so don't be alarmed. I just want to write something in addition to them.
What I settled on was something I love to read - the gothic. It is still a romance and a mystery, still set in Louisiana, but with gothic setting, storytelling and tone. I simply LOVE a good gothic book or movie. Did any of you see The Others with Nicole Kidman - fabulous example. And setting gothics in Louisiana is so easy - a haunted old mansion tucked far away in the bayou, with creepy cyress trees and hanging moss and thunderstorms and voodoo curses and well, you get the picture.
So I named some of the things I feel make gothics but I wanted to get opinions. Do any of you read gothics or watch the movies? If so, what elements do you feel are necessary to make a gothic a gothic????
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Musings of a Louisiana Liar
Everyone knows what "they" say about opinions, but we all have one anyway so why not publish it - right? Welcome to my somewhat limited and sarcastic view of the world.
Coming October 30, 2007
UNLUCKY
My debut!
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3 comments:
Your gothic idea sounds fun! I tried to do one set in Louisiana once, but my characters refused to cooperate. I may try to beat them into submission some day but for now I'm giving them the cold shoulder. *g*
I think this is a terrific idea! I didn't see "The Others" but I do read southern, gothic novels. And if I could write a book, that type would probably be my choice!
When I think of the gothic genre, I think of the past interfering with (or maybe just impacting) in some scary way, the present. The setting and atmosphere become so important to the book that they are almost main characters, if you know what I mean - and I'm sure you do.
Old, crumbling, haunted houses, bizarre, unexplainable things happening, strong characters who must resolve a problem that may have started before they were even born...
I think of some of Anne Rice's work - although not the vampire books - I hated those - unlike most of American readers. I think of "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil." I think even some (certainly not all) of Stephen King's books could be called gothic, though not southern. Some of the early books by Sheri Reynolds, while not strictly gothic, I think fall might within that genre. And of course, Flannery O'Connor and William Faulkner both pop into my head immediately!
Please keep us posted on your progress with this, Jana! Sorry to go on and on...but I'm excited for you!
tori - I have found when that happens that I'm either writing something I shouldn't or using the wrong characters for the story...or the wrong story for those characters. :)
Hi sassy - thanks for the tips and the authors! I haven't read all of them but I will check them out. I agree that a dark brooding secret from the past is definitely a must.....and I've definitely got one. :)
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