When I got to thinking of unromantic settings that needed a fictional fresh start, at the start of writing Wilfair, certain locations popped to mind. One? A boiler room, which historically, at least pop culture-wise, is The Room to Be Avoided at All Costs. (See: "A Nightmare on Elm Street" and practically every other movie that requires its scary final scene to play out in a hot, steamy, metal-grinding spot.)
There's also a boiler room in Tower of Terror at Disneyland Resort, which I'll get to in another post (this is one of my favorite rides and a general book inspiration).
I spend far too much time considering paths not taken when writing, I admit it. With this in mind, I wanted to see if I could make a boiler room into a wonderfully flirty spot. Likewise, the La Brea Tar Pits are often seen in disaster flicks. I wanted them to cameo in a romance.
Basically Wilfair's romantic side had to play out in quirkier locales that aren't often visited in lovey tales. This isn't to say some book stuff doesn't happen in traditionally pretty places, but I desire a mix in setting. I desire a mix in everything, actually. Call it conflicting concepts occupying the same space.
Honest, this is one of my most annoying traits. I own up. I want to walk a different path, which is an impulse that doesn't always serve me.
I always opted, happily, to play C-3PO or Boba Fett when all of my friends wanted to play Princess Leia back in grade school. I'd rather portray the sole bounty hunter than one of a dozen Leias, as long as I could be the only one, and not have to share the same role with eleven other people. The Leias moved en masse around the playground while I walked, robot-like, alongside, scolding R2-D2.
Sometimes I played R2-D2, too, when no one else would, even when I was already C-3PO. This meant I was standing/crouching dozens of times during a single recess while essentially talking to myself.
1. That's as deep as I'll ever go here, swear. :) 2. Probably. 3. Love Princess Leia, but yeah, I was Boba and the 'bots a lot.
Ahem.
Here's my highly unscientific, likely-full-of-holes, not-watertight list of romantic places and unromantic story places.
Romantic
1. A field full of flowers
2. A balcony
3. A street full of twinkly restaurants in a rainstorm
4. A beach
5. A boat at sunset
Unromantic
1. A boiler room
2. Basements
3. Old, paint-peeling motels
4. Odor-strong natural wonders
5. Ceilings
What's on your romantic spot/unromantic spot list? I'd love to hear the places you think get too much play in fiction or film and the places that need a fresh start, a la The Redwoodian's boiler room.
I was going to post a picture of Freddy Krueger, but, yeah. Freddy scary.
So here's something sweeter. This happened in The Redwoodian's boiler room. Thanks again for the amazing illustration, Caitlin #1!
