Wisdom From Flynn Rider

Okay, so all that Tangled talk is having some kind of effect on my blogging.

    On the other hand, it's giving me things to actually, you know, blog about, so there you go. 

    Here's a quote from one of the main characters, Flynn Rider: 

    "Whoa.  Sorry, lady, I don't do back story."

    Maybe we should all take a note from Flynn -- there are worse things for a book than back story (say, sparkling vampires?), but not too many of them.  It messes with the pacing and interest of a story, and has the potential to put readers off before they ever really give your novel the chance it deserves.  But can you blame them?  If you had to sift through pages and pages, wouldn't you toss the book back into the library drop-off box?

    Knowing me, I wouldn't.  More likely, the book would get kicked under my bed or something, and I'd only find it after accumulating lots of nice late fees. 

    Anywho, remember to avoid unnecessary back story at all costs.  And now, a freebie:

    "Frying pans! Who knew, right?"

Dragons, Vampires, a Princess in a Tower...Oh My?

Thank you, Disney. 

    The fact that one of your movies -- Tangled -- came out on DVD today, actually inspired this post.  (Whether or not that's good remains to be seen.)

    But back to my point.  In case you're living under a rock, venturing out for the occasional peek at a Geico billboard sign, I'll tell you -- Tangled is basically a revamped Rapunzel story. 

    Among authors and Hollywood, warped classics -- fairy tales, folk tales, kiddie stories -- are obviously really popular.  You just have to look at a few of the more recent movies in theatres and stores, plus the upcomings, to learn that much:  Snow White, Little Red, Rapunzel, Robin Hood, Alice, Beauty and the Beast, blah, blah, blah.

    In most cases, I don't really mind the revamps.  But I almost choked on my Cheez-Its when I heard Amanda Seyfried whisper, "What big eyes you have," and the previews for Beastly definitely made me groan. 

    To be fair, I never got over my inital bias enough to, you know, watch either of those movies, so I really shouldn't judge.  Much. 

    On the other hand, I absolutely adored Tangled and Alice in Wonderland, so there you go.

    I guess my thing is, it has to have a fresh enough twist to it, preferably in a way that doesn't completely kill the orignal.  Someday, I'd love to make my own version of one of the less-covered classics -- but only if I can find an original hook. 

    The last thing this world needs is another vampire story, but the second-to-last is definitely a trend-riding, maniac author. 

    But what do you think?