There are a few moments and phrases that reoccur in the books.
A biggie, at least for me? The characters have to laugh together at some point in every book. Having the friends trade zingers is one thing but seeing people lose it together is a thing I personally love, in real life and in fiction.
Call it The Laughing Rule.
Monty, Gomery, and Fair laugh, if not together, then at the same time in "Wilfair" when Fair stands at her bedroom window and sees Gomery looking up at her. She then does something dorky that sends him into a small fit.
The group-laugh in "Redwoodian" comes when Sutton talks about Prior Yates and his devotion to products that bear his name and/or likeness. She's trying to keep quiet because she'll wake people but she ends up crying with giggles into Fair's shoulder.
Fair has not yet heard Gomery's big laugh.
The Laughing Rule
Wilfair Callback Poster
You're probably like, "yay, Alysia is posting another small and blurry photo of a poster!" I jest, of course. But since I posted about the Wilfair Character Poster a couple of weeks ago I thought I'd talk briefly about the Wilfair Callback Poster.
We all know what a callback is in a movie or a book (I prefer the word "repeater," really, but callback seems catchier). Basically any time characters return to a joke or a topic they'd been talking about or one of the themes of the story, it's a callback.
I knew I wanted the Wilfair stories to have lots of callbacks, because that's how I really live; when I'm with my friends over a weekend, we'll return to the same jokes, changing them or adding on. Or we'll tease each other about the same things we've been teasing each other about for years (nicely, natch). Do you do this?
And nope, this poster isn't quite as fun as the Character Poster -- no monster stickers -- but it does have pretty much every reference that the Wilfair characters make more than once. Plus a few to come in the next book, "Stay Awhile." Those are the tiny asterisks.
Of course, while callbacks may dot a story the challenge is to move it forward, move the characters forward, move everything forward, while the people in it return, on occasion, to the same topics they'd been talking about. I do love the challenge. :)
One thing I can't resist returning to a few times a book is how Fair and Gomery sometimes have a brief exchange of silent information via how they look at each other. "My look said 'are we going out there?' His look said 'we probably should.' My look said 'I wasn't, like, prepared for this.' His look said 'me either.'"
Agree
The message in these Unique LA photos is very much in sync with what's in my heart as I write.
Plus, pics of adorable gentlemen and an adorable lady being all positive and stuff? Hi. Like. Yes.
The Shiver-Producing Pleasures of Anticipation
I don't have anything to add. I just wanted to make a post with that title. Which I hope says everything it needs to say.
Talking About People in Front of People
Personally? I love this. With a qualifier: It needs to be kind and not cruel.
I try to include this element in the Wilfair books. It's fun when two friends retreat to a bedroom to discuss a guy; it is far more interesting to me when the guy himself is included in the conversation.
I should say I love it when it isn't especially mean-spirited. I don't mind gossip having an edge, because I think it authentically does, but I'm not fond of friends tearing each other down. At all. Because life is hard and stuff.
Two last thoughts.
One? This isn't to say there aren't mean people in the books. The stories do lean sunny, definitely, but there are clouds around.
And two? Having friends tease, rankle, and befuddle each other by talking about one another in front of one another is perfectly acceptable, of course. Sometimes a person wants to further a friend's agenda by revealing something about them in the presence of others.
An example of this would be Monty discussing Gomery's interesting policy near the beginning of Redwoodian. Gomery is a bit embarrassed but Monty knows sharing the information will ultimately benefit his cousin.
We all need that bold person who can say what we can't or won't.
And we eventually must learn how to say what we can't or won't.
