Category Archives: April A-Z Challenge
H is for… Heroine #AtoZChallenge
H is for… Heroine
I was introduced to the book ‘The Woman in the Story: writing memorable female characters’ by Helen Jacey (Amazon Associates link) recently and was discussing it with a friend when they made a suggestion that has stuck in my mind.
Those writers amongst you will be familiar with the idea of the Hero’s Journey as plotting guidance for writing (here’s a cool interactive website that gives you basic information about it). Helen Jacey starts in the introduction to her book (p.xv) by saying ‘But none of the screenwriting guides have paid much attention to the difference between men’s and women’s lives and to what happens if the hero is a heroine.’
Now, once again I haven’t had chance to read this book but it may be useful to my PhD because of what my friend suggested. I mentioned back in the ‘A’ post that I was planning to use autoethnography as a research methodology and as I’m a woman surely I will be the “Heroine” in my own story so the guidance provided here might help me share that story in an interesting and engaging way.
Thanks Clarissa for the suggestion.
So do you think stories with female protagonists follow a different structure?
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H is for…Hex #AtoZChallenge
H is for… Hex
Hex was a British supernatural TV series that was shown between 2004 and 2005. It ran for two series, the first just 6 episodes, the second 13.
Cassie attends a remote English school and has to face up to her destiny when a curse is released and she starts seeing the fallen angel Azazeal who wants her to join him on the dark side. Her friend Thelma tries to help her choose the right path but the lure of her new powers, and Azazeal are seductive.
The tagline for this series was Bloody. Hell. If that doesn’t make you want to watch it nothing I say will ;o) Along with Being Human this is definitely a case of Brits getting Supernatural right.
Azazeal was played by Michael Fassbender so it wasn’t hard to believe that Cassie would fall for him.
A character called Troy was played by Joseph Morgan – who has now returned to the supernatural with his role as Klaus in The Vampire Diaries. It always interests me when I recognise actors who have played parts in similar genre roles before. Joss Whedon is very proficient in re-using his favourites in different shows.
The two female leads Cassie (Christina Cole) and Thelma (Jemima Rooper) are joined by Ella (Laura Pyper) in series two and together they work to battle the Nephelim and aim to prevent the end of the world each making sacrifices in the process.
I really shouldn’t have picked this topic, this is making me want to rewatch all these shows now.
And a quick nod to Highlander
I have to admit to having a bit of an Adrian Paul crush when watching this.
Any fellow Hex fans out there?
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G is for… Ghost Whisperer / Game of Thrones #AtoZChallenge
G is for… Ghost Whisperer / Game of Thrones
I loved Ghost Whisperer (2005 − 2010 – yes another one that’s over).
This series was about Melinda Gordon (Jennifer Love Hewitt) who has the ability to speak to ghosts. The whispering aspect is not about her vocal tone when she does this (although if other people are around sometimes she has to) but about the fact that her task is normally to help them cross over. So she helps solve murders, speaks to relatives and is a counsellor to the undead. She also cries a lot, whether happy or sad.
Another series that it would be tricky to limit the episodes I love, and as I’m writing this post late, I am going to talk about one double episode that made me sad cry like Melinda (Actually I wept buckets and didn’t look very attractive).
The final two episodes of Season 1 – Free Fall and The One revolve around a plane crash in her home town. Melinda has a lot of bodies to cross over and an evil spirit to contend with and I was oblivious!! (Trying not to be spoilery).
This is one of those series that generally episodes are self contained so you can feel like you get a whole story even if you are dipping in mid-series. But like any long lasting series worth its salt, it also builds on the stories of our main characters and often has an overarching series storyline. So I’m basically saying – if you like supernatural things watch them all.
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Game of Thrones (2011 – current – yay) is an epic fantasy series based on the novels by George R. R. Martin (which are waiting on my Kindle to be read). I’ve just watched the first two episodes of season 3 tonight in fact (hence the lateness of this post).
Instead of talking episodes or scenes I’m going to talk about which characters I like best (to the extent that I often find myself wanting other scenes to be over, even though I’m enjoying them, so I can see these people).
Tyrion Lannister (The Imp) – seems to get the best lines and is one of the more likeable of this thread of the story – he slapped the evil Joffrey Baratheon for one thing (who is a nasty nasty piece of work).
Arya Stark – ends up doing a ‘Mulan’ to escape, cuts off her hair and pretends to be a boy. She is brave and cunning.
And my favourites throughout the whole of season one were Daenerys Targaryen and Khal Drogo. I loved how their relationship developed (was a little surprised to find out she is 13 in the book!!). The nicknames they have for each other are very romantic – Dany is called ‘moon of my life’ and Drogo ‘my sun and stars’. At the moment I’m rooting for Khaleesi Dany and her dragons to rule.
Video of the development of their romance via YouTube
Are you Ghost Whisperer or Game of Thrones fans?
What would you most like to see happen to Joffrey?
kirstyes 