Romantic Comedy Formula

http://www.writersstore.com/romantic-comedy-writing-secrets

http://www.screenstyle.com/fromcontofir.html

To shorten what these links have to say, here's the romantic comedy formula that I like:

1. Protagonists should have an inner conflict that the romantic relationship confronts and resolves.
2.  Put a spin on the standard construct. Try to come up with a concept that will enable your tale to stand out from the crowd. Failing that, an interesting hook in the execution can make a difference.
3. Steep your characters in painful, truth-baring situations, and look for gags to make people laugh.
4. Have it be about something besides romance; reflect an insight you have about the relations between men and women / the human condition.
5. Boy meets girl; boy loses girl; boy gets girl.

The hero story - a 10 point formula

http://orias.berkeley.edu/hero/


I like this site because you can go around the circle and see how hero stories are built.  It shows the epic hero's story formula:

1. Birth - Fabulous circumstances surrounding conception, birth and childhood establish the hero's pedigree and may constitute another monomyth cycle.  
2. Home -"A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man." -- Joseph Campbell
3. Call to Adventure -The hero is called to adventure by some external event or messenger. The Hero may accept the call willingly or reluctantly.
4. Elixir - The object, knowledge, or blessing that the hero acquired during the adventure is now put to use in an everyday world. Often it has a restorative or healing function, but it also serves to define the hero's role in the society.
5. Return - The hero again crosses the threshold of adventure and returns to the everyday world of daylight. The return usually takes the form of an awakening, rebirth, resurrection, or a simple emergence from a cave or forest. Sometimes the hero is pulled out of the adventure world by a force from the daylight world.
6. Flight - After accomplishing the mission, the hero must return to the threshold of adventure and prepare for a return to the everyday world. If the hero has angered the opposing forces by stealing the elixir or killing a powerful monster, the return may take the form of a hasty flight. If the hero has been given the elixir freely, the flight may be a benign stage of the journey.
7. Crossing the Threshold - Upon reaching the threshold of adventure, the hero must undergo some sort of ordeal in order to pass from the everyday world into the world of adventure. This trial may be as painless as entering a dark cave or as violent as being swallowed up by a whale. The important feature is the contrast between the familiar world of light and the dark, unknown world of adventure
8. Tests- The hero travels through the dream-like world of adventure where he must undergo a series of tests. These trials are often violent encounters with monsters, sorcerers, warriors, or forces of nature. Each successful test further proves the hero's ability and advances the journey toward its climax.
9.  Helpers/Amulet - During the early stages of the journey, the hero will often receive aid from a protective figure. This supernatural helper can take a wide variety of forms, such as a wizard, and old man, a dwarf, a crone, or a fairy godmother. The helper commonly gives the hero a protective amulet or weapon for the journey.  The hero is often accompanied on the journey by a helper who assists in the series of tests and generally serves as a loyal companion. Alternately, the hero may encounter a supernatural helper in the world of adventure who fulfills this function.
10. Final Battle -This is the critical moment in the hero's journey in which there is often a final battle with a monster, wizard, or warrior which facilitates the particular resolution of the adventure.

Writer's Block

I always thought writer's block was a mental problem: you couldn't think of a sentence. You couldn't think of a title. You were afraid to fail. You were afraid to succeed.

Now I think of writer's block more in terms of life management skills. The lack of.

If I wasn't in charge of laundry for five people, if I wasn't in charge of cooking, shopping, cleaning, organizing, chauffering, disciplining, supervising, loving, tucking in and spanking five people. If I wasn't committed to translating a 500-plus page book. If I didn't have to get out into the sunshine when the weather calls. If I didn't have to sleep.

So it goes-- so life goes, and one wonders how any book writing ever takes place on this earth with so many tasks in the way!

But I have a dream. The dream is of a book that I don't want to give away, yet. It is whimsical, hopeful, child-like and love-promoting. It's empathetic, interesting, and biting. It's got colorful men and vibrant women and delightful children and terrifying deserts and beautiful forests and little red shacks and high haunted castles and fast moving rivers and vast, icy oceans and deep, black lakes and cold, stormy nights and sweet lullabyes in it.  I wonder if it will ever be completed.

I wonder if it will ever be started.

I have to wipe down counters and unload the dishwasher and make minestrone and feed the baby lunch and pick up the other kids from school now.

And so it goes!