I went out this morning to run the usual restocking errands, and now I'm pretty much done with my Christmas shopping. I have a pretty small list, just my parents, since I give my brother his gift at Thanksgiving, and I've got the main items for them. I'd still like to find a couple of other things, but if I get hit by the plague and don't get to shop again before Christmas, I will have gifts for my family. I love it when I stumble across good things when I wasn't planning to do that kind of shopping.
I also started preparations for this weekend's forecast freeze by getting myself a pair of fleece pajamas (they were on sale at TJ Maxx). I'm already planning a cozy Friday night watching my TV shows while it's freezing outside (and maybe even freezing rain). The local weather geek has mentioned that he will make storm preparations for this one, so it's likely to be worse than the one a couple of weekends ago that amounted to nothing. Tomorrow will be grocery obtaining day so I'll be ready for baking.
I'm reading my first teen dystopia book, unintentionally. I didn't know that's what it was, just that I saw it in the library and remembered it from my notes from my talk with my agent about my new publisher, as this was their "big" book for this year. My knowledge of the Hunger Games series is limited to the ads for the movies, but it does seem like the heroine getting all glammed up in a makeover seems to be a requirement for this sort of thing. The world may suck, but you get to wear a pretty dress at least once if you're the chosen one. I don't think this is the genre for me. Not because of the pretty dress issue. I'm totally in favor of that. But I'm not crazy about the futuristic dystopian society thing.
The story for my Lifetime holiday movie is shaping up in my head, and strangely, I'm finding myself thinking it in screenplay form rather than in narrative. I've watched enough of these movies to have a sense of their "rules." Going after a prestigious career to the point you push family and friends aside is bad, and you'll have to learn A Valuable Lesson. Ditto for anything that gets in the way of you celebrating Christmas. The girl (or boy) next door is your best choice. You can only end up with the super good-looking and successful person after he/she has learned A Valuable Lesson.
In my personal rules, there will be no adorable moppets -- no single parents finding love. No "Hey, Santa is real!" stuff (I've only tolerated that for one movie and that was because Lucas Bryant was playing Santa's son, and unlike on Haven, he was allowed to smile). No "I should have married my high-school boyfriend and my life would have turned out better."
I'm hoping I can get away with somewhat subverting a few tropes. Why does it have to be so either/or -- small town or huge city, driven career woman who's mean to everyone or stay-at-home mom, boy-next-door or mogul? What about some success without killing everyone to do it, or working at a conscientious company rather than an evil one? Can't you find a nice guy who wasn't your high school boyfriend?
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