thank you Mad Men


I've waited a couple of days to write anything about the finale of Mad Men just so that I wouldn't be assassinated by some stalker for spilling any spoilers. Not here, btw. For now, I just want to say how much I loved the opening sequence -

Don piloting this muscle car across the salt flats like nothing mattered (it was just dawning on him that it didn't), then him stepping out of the car and peeling off the snoopy flying helmet and the realization that he had bamboozled some fools into thinking he was a race car driver. Of course, he is. From the beginning, it's always been about the car.

I watched the show in a celebratory manner, trying to go drink for drink with whoever was on screen drinking. I even watched the encore, another round, I think.

Sleep was deep, but never dreamless.

For some time now I've been wrestling with the realization that my female main character is weak. It's been tough writing her into things. So much wallpaper. Jack is rich and complex and he's been easy to write. Hell, it's no secret that I like men, particularly bad boys. On the other hand, I don't think I could put up with Anna on a regular basis. Her bitter cynicism and weakness make me want to slap her. She needed some kind of power, even if it was kept secret, something most likely to matter a lot when the shit hits the fan.

So I gave her a secret passion and a car. I may have just set myself for a total rewrite before the first draft is done, but now it's got legs - better, she has wheels.


Comments

  1. AnonymousJune 10, 2015 at 5:43 PM

    reminding me of this idea that we don't have to like a character or even have empathy for them... last week wrote about someone that someone else in my group wanted to bitch slap. But I like this idea of her having a secret passion... in many of Mary Stewart's novels (I'll admit to loving her and having read every single book she's ever written), the heroine is a car aficionado (of course her heroines are supremely sympathetic....)

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