Girls Write Out
Thursday, June 29, 2006
"Thou shall not covet thy characters' lives." This should be the 11th commandment for all writers. I find when I do research on something, suddenly, I want it! Case in point, I am writing about a Hollywood hairstylist, so I had to research how do you get to the top in this field? what makes someone's haircuts worth $200 vs. $10 down the street? Sure enough, I do the research and find out that these stylists go through rigorous training, and basically live for work to get through the training -- and for them, it's about craft. It's about pursuing the art of their vocation.

Suddenly, I'm thinking I totally need this kind of haircut! If I could get a "razor" cut and bring my hair into shape, I'd be great! Nevermind that it would cost me an airline ticket AND the price of the haircut -- not to mention getting the appt. Completely impractical. Not good.

So while normal people are out there looking at their neighbor's green grass? I'm creating things to covet. I'm sure there's a name for this kind of illness. Maybe if I wrote murder-mysteries like Colleen, I'd be safe. I will say one thing, the hardest thing for me is to come up with heroes, because I think they should all be Stanford engineers with good hair, like my honey. : )
Anonymous  
posted at 11:57 AM  
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14 Comments:
At 1:11 PM, Blogger Julie Carobini said...

Hey, is that really a commandment, because I think I'm in big trouble...hahaha.

 
At 1:47 PM, Blogger Katie Hart - Pinterest Manager said...

Well, I suppose that's one benefit to writing historical instead of contemporary - there's always the satisfaction of indoor plumbing to help yourself be grateful for the present. And even fantasy brings a whole line of unattainable goodies.

And while being single puts a cramp in the "write what you know" part of romance novel writing, I can have a lot of fun imagining the heroes of my tales. :-)

 
At 2:09 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think that commandment must have to apply to readers too, right? Because if it's engaging enough for you, as the author to want, then you'll write about it in a way that will make your readers want it, need it and have to have it. I'm already thinking I could use a really good haircut with a hairdresser who looks at their work like art. Hmm, seems like a big circle of covetousness! ;-)

 
At 2:20 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hmmm...might depend on the hair dresser's idea of art. It could get interesting. ;)
Meanwhile, I'm fighting to get my cosmetology license renewed. I've been charged TWICE and still no paper certificate in the mail. :(

 
At 3:26 PM, Blogger Jaime Wright said...

Ok, I'm thinking the perfect hero for the perfectly coiffed hairstylist would be the opposite extreme (proving opposites DO attract - hence - MY husband :)

Mountain biker/rock climber with the shaggy climber hair that the stylist must get her hands on. Listen's to Jack Johnson instead of smooth jazz and doesn't know engineering from ostrich-egg-carving. HOWEVER. He still exhibits reliability and responsibility by doing wilderness guided trips for tourists in Northern CA.

That's one idea for an out-of-the-box hero ... and I'd DEFINITELY buy that book. *wink, wink*

Need help on the mtn. biking/rock climbing, I have boo-koo amounts of resources!!!!!

I'm at work. Bored. And feeling creative. Not intending to write your book for you. So don't take the above as invasive. =0)

 
At 5:36 PM, Blogger Jaime Wright said...

shucks. I was looking forward to Kristin Billerbeck's chick-lit version of Grizzly Adams!! LOL

 
At 6:22 PM, Blogger Jaime Wright said...

I dunno ... I think it'd be a pretty gruesome corpse ... perhaps you should consider the writing style of say - Stephen King.

Ok. I digress. Back to hair styling .... roflol

 
At 9:41 PM, Blogger Southern-fried Fiction said...

Kristen, I'll bring my razor to Dallas and give you a haircut. LOL - I can't believe razor cuts ara back in vogue. We did them when I went to school in Los Angeles, back in 19#@. Then it changed and everyone wanted scissor cuts. Actually, razors are great for certain types of hair, but not all.

The fun thing is the hair shows and the contests. I used to love to enter those! But that's another story ... maybe in Dallas. :o)

 
At 1:01 AM, Blogger Kayla said...

I love you, Kristin.

I'm having that problem, because my character right now is going on vacation to my favorite place in the world, Hilton Head Island. I'm reliving all of my awesome memories through her and getting mad because I haven't been there in a couple years! lol

 
At 2:04 AM, Blogger Lynette Sowell said...

Yeah, the guy from WNTW does great hair.

Have you ever watched the Bravo series Blowout, with the Beverly Hills/LA stylist Jonathan? He's such an egomaniac.

 
At 2:05 PM, Blogger Rachel Hauck said...

What a great premise! Is it really worth a $200 haircut? I mean it's shampoo, scissors and a blow dryer, maybe a flat iron and you're out.

;)
Rachel (who's getting her hair cut and colored in a few hours for $55.)

 
At 2:26 PM, Blogger Malia Spencer said...

I would love to get Nick Orojo (sp?) to cut my hair. I have yet to see him do a bad haircut. I wonder if he works anywhere other than the show?

You could definitely have some fun with a character who is the guinea pig for new styles and such. Maybe you could even get in as one?

The son of a family friend is a makeup artist and he's pretty notch. He's won all sorts of international awards within the community. If I mentioned the salon some of you would recognize it. He just got trained on a new technique where they use surgical glue to add eyelashes for a fuller look. They look completely natural and fall out like regular lashes do. His mother was his guinea pig. It took him a little bit to figure out how to do it on his own, including the fact he needed a different size of tweezers. Then after that you have to keep going back but it does make a difference.

We had lunch after her treatment and she kept batting her eyelashes, she loved them so much. It was definitely cute. I won't shock you all with the cost but let's just say it's more than Kristin's wanted haircut.

The one great thing about knowing his mom is I'm pretty sure when I get married I can get a great rate on my makeup and I know it'll look fabulous.

 
At 2:32 PM, Blogger Rachel Hauck said...

Ah, yeah, well there is the talent part. ;)

Maybe we should get your hairstylist together with my diva. ;)

R

 
At 4:18 PM, Blogger Tiffany Amber Stockton said...

Oooh...do you think God would mind if we appended His laws? Just kidding! You know, He must look down on us and shake his head, but smile too. Cuz we all know He has a great sense of humor. Look at the race He created. LOL!

And Kristin, I'm with you. Only, instead of wanting haircuts and material possessions, I find myself wanting a hero like the ones I create. See, you have trouble *creating* one in your books. I have trouble *finding* one in real life. *winks*

As for writing murder mysteries, you might be careful what you wish for. Look at Brandilyn Collins...seeing her serial killer from Dread Champion in Houston. :)

 

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The Authors
Kristin Billerbeck
Kristin Billerbeck is a proud Californian, wife, mother of four, and connoisseur of the irrelevant. She writes Christian Chick Lit; where she finds need for most of the useless facts lulling about in her head.

www.KristinBillerbeck.com

Colleen Coble

Colleen Coble writes romantic suspense with a strong atmospheric element. A lovable animal of some kind--usually a dog--always populates her novels. She can be bribed with DeBrand mocha truffles.

www.ColleenCoble.com

Denise Hunter

Denise Hunter writes women's fiction and love stories with a strong emotional element. Her husband says he provides her with all her romantic material, but Denise insists a good imagination helps too.

www.DeniseHunterBooks.com

Diann Hunt

Diann Hunt writes romantic comedy and humorous women's fiction. She has been happily married forever, loves her family, chocolate, her friends, chocolate, her dog, and well, chocolate.

www.DiannHunt.com

Hannah Alexander

Cheryl Hodde writes romantic medical suspense under the pen name of Hannah Alexander, using all the input she can get from her husband, Mel, for the medical expertise. For fun she hikes and reads. Out of guilt, she rescues discarded cats. She and Mel are presently taking orders from four pampered strays.

www.HannahAlexander.com

 
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