Outlander Thoughts. Maybe Roger is underappraciated because he is over shadowed

 

Lately, I have been rereading the Outlander series and am caught up to the TV show. The Fiery Cross.

    There are those who have read the books and watched the show, who might wonder why I chose to write about Roger Wakefield/Mckenzie specifically.

    Mostly because there seems to be a split of feelings about him. There are those that love him, especially since they found Richard Rankin to portray him. But for years, there have been a lot of people that dislike his character (at least in my circles). I have a friend that borrowed my books about a decade ago and she devoured them until book 5. Which is a bit slow, but that's not why she stopped. She stopped reading because she hated Roger and felt the book focused on him too much. I tried to get her to read more by telling her that he got hanged, but that didn't help. I waved Jamie and Claire in front of her, but no. She never picked up the books again because of Roger. Now when she saw Richard Rankin, she warmed to the character of the show a bit.

    As for me, I will admit that compared to the indomitable Jamie Fraser and the larger than life Dougal and the sassy smart Claire. And even Bri who I find to be spoiled and selfish at first, she can be charming.

This is what 49 looks like.

     Roger was a little Meh. He was more in his element in the 1960s I believe. But when he went back to the past he had trouble adjusting when the other 2 time travelers seemed to do fine.

    Then I thought about it. The others all have a leg up over him. Jamie Fraser is a manly Man. He grew up during that time. He is at ease among royalty and in the hills living off the land. He can hunt, build, fight, lead and charm people. Claire lived on archeological digs as kid and was a Nurse during WWI so she knows how to live primitively and can adapt to whatever is thrown her way. Now you might be like, What about Bri? She's a spoiled suburbanite American girl. She should struggle, too. Well, she would, but her adopted father taught her to hunt, fish, shoot and rough it. So--another leg up.

    Then there's Roger. A sweet sentimental twentieth century historian at home with books and singing. The whole reason he went back in time, unskilled and unprepared, was for love. He loved Bri and followed her to be with her and protect her. Surprisingly, he did ok for himself thanks to some knowledge of sailing and determination. And then, because of misunderstanding he gets the shit beat out of him and he gets sold to the Native Americans. Nobody talks about how he survived the journey and the "initiation" (He ran through a gauntlet of people beating him with clubs and he made it through--not an easy feat.)

    When he is procured back to the Frasers, he has no real skill but he is willing to try. He can't shoot well because he lacks binocular vision and his first instinct is not usually to brawl as he was raised a scholar. All of these things are looked down on. He does earn respect from others for being a beautiful singer, but Jamie can't appreciate it because he is tone deaf and that particular skill won't bring in crops or protect the "women". Then in book 5 (and the tv show) Roger is mistaken and hanged. It is only because Claire knows how to do a tracheotomy that he survives at all. But his throat is shot. The one thing he had. His one skill is gone. 

    I've heard people say that he sulked and bitched too much. They could understand the PTSD from being hanged, but what's the big deal. He's alive. He can talk (like he has gravel in his throat.) Why is he having an identity crisis?

    Because it was his thing. His calling. The only thing he was good at. Not just good but fantastic. Of course losing that would leave him bereft. He is aware that compared to the others, he sucks at living in that time. But when he had music, he could bring joy or help people grieve. He could fire men up before battles. Anyone who played D&D knows how powerful a Bard's voice can be. It is his weapon. It is his meal ticket. It is the thing that makes him feel part of the community. And it is gone. There is only Roger who can't do things as well as anyone else. Even his wife is more "manly" than him by those standards. 

    I'll stop at season/book 5 since the show is there at the moment. I know, there are 8 books out that continue the story and we get to see all the character's arcs including Roger's but in fairness of those who have only watched the show I will stop at 5.

    In any case, all the other characters are bigger than life. Even Young Ian has a big charismatic personality. And honestly can any man measure up to Jamie Fraser? He is one of my favorite book boyfriends. I could write a blog about why I love Jamie, but for today, I just wanted to give some props to poor Roger. With all those other epic characters around him and in a time period he is not trained for, he is going to be overshadowed and overlooked. His personality is rather meh.

    Thinking about it, I would not do as well as Claire or Bri. I'm not a doctor. I'm not an architect that builds useful things. I'm not an herbalist or farmer. I haven't cooked anything on an open fire but hot dogs and marshmallows. I'd be ok with basic sanitation and first aid, and I could maybe be a ladies maid with my skills as a hairdresser, but honestly I've never used an iron that heated on the stove and I would probably reenact the scene from Little Women where Jo burned off Meg's hair.

So--yeah. I'm not even a Historian so I wouldn't know all the little historical events to warn others about. Actually, if I got shot back in time, I think Roger would do better than me because of his knowledge and the fact that he is a tall muscled man that can do hard labor.

    I guess that about sums it up. If Roger hadn't got sucked into the Randall/Fraser mess. If he had never fallen head over heels in love with Brianna and if he had never went through the stones and had just stayed in his time, He would be a great catch.  He is a scholar and professor. He has some money and is skilled at singing and playing guitar and drum. He is Scottish with that lovely accent. He is handsome sporting a large physic, dark hair and glass green eyes. He is good humored and helpful. He is gallant and thoughtful. And he is patient and kind. All of these things are great things in the 20th and 21st century. 

    Love makes us do crazy things. It makes us go outside our comfort zone. It makes us question everything about ourselves. It makes us change whether we want to or not.

Writing sex scenes can be weird

 

    Earlier this morning I came across a post in one of my writing groups. The person seemed almost shy when they asked for advice on writing s*x. They couldn't even write the word sex. They may have censored it because of FB police. But I think it had more to do with the fact that speaking openly about sex is still a bit Taboo.

    We're not as bad as we used to be when it comes to sex and passion, but it is still a sticky subject when it comes to publicly speaking about it. It's more likely that you'll be exposed to Gore and other graphic content then you will be to extreme romance (if you will).

    Which does seem strange to me. I can see a person get eviscerated on a tv show but don't you dare give me the vapors by showing me carnal passion. lol

        As far as writing it you have to get the physical stuff right first. One author friend of mine used her daughters barbies to see if a sex position could be logical. Other's use modeling dolls or software to ensure they are accurate.  I mean, it'll take you right out of the story if the guys penis is at a 90 degree angle and goes around corners. Or if the girl has shelf booty and the guy is trying spooning.

    After you handle the physics of sex, you have to get in touch with the emotional aspect of their love making. You have to remember or imagine that vulnerability and overwhelming sensory overload as well as the psychological ramifications. Sounds simple, right?

    Yes and no. For a while,  when I was beginning my writing career,  my children were small and very needy. My cats were also forcefully lovey and don't give a damn if you want/have to write. During that time, feeling sexy or romantic is hard both in fiction and in real life. I would start to get in the rhythm of writing a tender, erotic scene and the kiddos would fight or get hurt or need food/drink/diaper change. And that would yank me right out of the moment as fast as if someone threw ice water on me in the middle of coitus.  Or the cats would jump onto my computer typing their version of Old McDonalds E-I-E-I-Oooooooooo...

    And even if I was lucky enough to be able to write while the kids occupied themselves or were napping in the middle of the day, I had a vague sense of wrongness to it. Like I was watching porn out in the open in the light of day with the sound up and the doors and windows open. I wasn't but I was so immersed in the scene that I could touch, taste, smell, feel and see the sweat glistening on skin as my lovers whispered sweet nothings to the music of their love making. When I was done, I would glance up startled to see my messy cluttered living room and the tv on a rerun of some sitcom. The fire lit dimness of my mind slowly vanishing to the realism of the day. 

    Most times, I ran around like a crazy person and had no time during the day. I was a full time college student at that time as well and had to write so many dry, logical, APA critical research papers. By the time I slogged through those my Muse was sickly and weak.

    My best time during those hectic earlier days was at night. When the lights were low, the kids and cats were asleep and the house  was blissfully silent. I would finish up my "logical" school stuff and then settle in to write my stories. Many nights I sacrificed sleep just to get those uninterrupted moments in. But, in the dark solitude, I was able to revive my muse and fully pour myself into the sex scenes and with it being dark, it seemed a little more natural and a little wicked instead of out right lecherous. When I came out of my writing daze the night seemed to embrace me and leave me feeling like I'd created something beautiful instead of adolescent directed porn. 

    And as a side note. I read some books from other authors on how to write sex scenes. I read blogs and listened to podcasts. And I had my husband write some of the books from the male's perspective because he knows better than I how things feel physically and emotionally. That's one of the reasons we created Heather Geoffires because having both sides seems to make it more realistic.(For any of you that have read how men write women and how some women write men honestly, you know what I'm talking about.)

    Anyway. Writing sex scenes can be difficult and weird. These are some random thoughts I had this early morning.

    How do you feel about writing sex. What about when you read it? Any advice?

Has Heather disappeared off the face of the earth? No, it's just NaNoWriMo time again

 

    For a week or so there I was blogging every day again. Really just getting back into the swing of things like a champ. Most of my posts were random, which is the way I like it. Although I did try to make them fairly "author-y".

    Then poof. No more blogs. What happened? First Halloween happened, but then November 1st hit and now it's time for NaNoWriMo. 

    What is NaNoWriMo? It stands for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). And the idea is that starting on November 1st through November 30th, writers of all types (amateurs to NY Times bestsellers), sit down every day and write. The goal is to write 50,000 words in that month. It seems daunting to those who don't write daily or are slow writers, but it's not a competition. It's motivation to help you get your writing done. There are many people that are in the same boat as you who need that extra nudge to get shit done. Some people write more, some write less. Sometimes you hit your goal and sometimes you don't. 

    I have an author friend that regularly publishes multiple books a year. She writes fast and she writes all the time. She still does NaNo because it help re motivate her. I also know others who use it for it's community. At Nano you can buddy up with friends, join local groups and do "write ins" and "Sprints" and you can read pep talks from some of your favorite authors. It helps you feel more connected. It shows you that these authors are just regular people, like you , that had an idea and wrote it down.  They all started at the beginning, just like you.

    And here's a bonus. It's not about how great your first draft is. Generally the first draft is filled with grammatical errors. Or as I read one time; You're first draft is a pile of shit, that's why we edit and do revisions. But you can't clean it up if you don't get it on paper. NanoWrimo doesn't care about how pretty it is. It just wants you to vomit words on paper. That's it. Get the words in. Get your butt in a chair. Noone sees your work but you. All Nano cares about it word count.

    So, yeah, you probably won't see me much. I will try to blog from time to time if I remember something other than my novel over this next month. I will try. But my main focus right now is getting that word count. Reaching 50k by the end of November and finishing this novel. And if I can finish this one. If I can sit and write every day and it becomes a habit, then I can finish all my other poor stories that have been in a coma for years. And maybe even barf out some of the stories that have been trapped in my head as well.

    Have you tried NaNo? If you're an aspiring writer, I recommend you check it out.

See you on the other side. And good luck if you're doing it. :D

https://nanowrimo.org