We are at the end of March, and regretfully at the end of the TV season (at least for me). Why regretfully? Because watching TV has made me a much better writer this year. How so? I know it sounds corny but watching TV programs this season (news shows excluded) has made me pay attention to the sound of words. The dialogue TV writers have used this season to get across the drama, or comedy, of their shows has filtered to my ears, as well as my eyes.
Now, as we approach the final weeks of some TV shows--from the big wedding on "How I met Your Mother" to "The Walking Dead" on AMC--the cliff-hangers are building. And as a writer, I appreciate those cliff-hangers, because they mimic my writing world. Like the finale of a well-crafted sitcom or drama, I'm always trying to write a book that will take my readers to a precipice with the characters, and then plunge them over the edge with the outcome uncertain (and scary) as they fall.
Building up to the cliff-hanger at the end of the season has always been a major part of the TV writing world, but in a novel writer's world, keeping the suspense alive throughout a book, is a must. It insures the reader will keep turning the pages, and keep coming back for the author's next book, and the next--the same way TV viewers come back the next season and the next. Staying tuned, they watch the new adventures of their beloved characters, and it puts a lift in their day, or touches an emotional cord of understanding in their hearts. Either way, words, (and the use of them), feeds us with the knowledge that we are all masters of our own stories.
This week, we are saying goodbye to old friends--some for the very last time. Will we ever see the likes of Barney, Ted or Robin again? Or Rick, Daryl, and Carol who are battling zombies in an apocalytic world? The answer is of course we will, in re-runs on TNT, TBS, and numerous other cable stations. Will there be new characters for us to fall in love with in the new season? Absolutely. Will we find a new book that mirrors something deep within us that we can't define, let alone articulate? Again, absolutely.
So, as of today, I'm going to go with the flow, and enjoy the TV finales currently going on on around me. But I'm also going to remember that everything has its season and, though I don't always like it, endings must occur. It's the rhythm of life. So good bye, March Madness, and hello, April Fool's Day. Without you, there would be no promise of new beginnings, and certainly no new paranormal romance story for my fans to look forward to.
