Can a Story About Ordinary People Hold Your Interest?

As  readers and authors, we don't want all material to be the same. That would be like eating the same meal every day, three times day. We like variety, yes, but still we pick and choose those foods that appeal to us from a wide variation of the same kind. I love tomatoes, and I'll take any kind or variety of tomato that I can find. However, some are often tasteless or too mushy or too acidic, making my stomach churn.

But I wouldn't eat a raw oyster on a bet. First, they're distasteful looking, slimy, and just plain awful. Plus, I've seen too many things under a microscope, and trust me...you might think twice about eating one. However, I've seen people eat them with gusto and enjoy every morsel.

To each his own.

The same is true with my reading and writing material. There are certain genres and styles I enjoy, and there are others I wouldn't read....well, on the same bet.

Often I crave "just stories," nothing contrived, but a tale about...Ordinary People. Yes, I think many of my stories are about ordinary people. (I'm omitting my 99cent Western Trail Blazer shorts--those are a little overdone, but all in the name of fun.)

My favorite kind of movie, too, is often about ordinary people. (Here, I'll exclude the James Bond movies with Daniel Craig. I know they're totally unrealistic, very loud, and often brutal. But...that's my one foray into a secret vice--I LOVE his James Bonds movies!)

But back to movies about people, with their angst, their longings, their heartbreak, their loneliness, their phobias, and yes, even their weaknesses. Dysfunctional people and families can make the most interesting and emotional movie or book.

Here are four Storylines--Have you seen the movie? Hint: these are not new.

STORYLINE I:

Beth, Calvin, and their son Conrad are living in the aftermath of the death of the other son. Conrad is overcome by grief and misplaced guilt to the extent of a suicide attempt. He is in therapy. Beth had always preferred his brother and is having difficulty being supportive to Conrad. Calvin is trapped between the two trying to hold the family together.

~*~Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore, Judd Hirsch,

Timothy Hutton~*~

STORYLINE II:

Lester and Carolyn Burnham are on the outside, a perfect husband and wife, in a perfect house, in a perfect neighborhood. But inside, Lester is slipping deeper and deeper into a hopeless depression. He finally snaps when he becomes infatuated with one of his daughter's friends. Meanwhile, his daughter Jane is developing a happy friendship with a shy boy-next-door named Ricky, who lives with a homophobic father.

~*~Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch, Wes Bentley,

Mena Suvari~*~

STORYLINE III:

In the Salinas Valley, in and around World War I, Cal Trask feels he must compete against overwhelming odds with his brother Aron for the love of their father Adam. Cal is frustrated at every turn, from his reaction to the war, to how to get ahead in business and in life, to how to relate to estranged mother.
~*~Julie Harris, James Dean, Raymond Massey, Richard Davalos~*~

STORYLINE IV:

Aurora and Emma are mother and daughter who march to different drummers. Beginning with Emma's marriage, Aurora shows how difficult and loving she can be. The movie covers several years of their lives as each finds different reasons to go on living and find joy. Aurora's interludes with Garrett Breedlove, retired astronaut and next door neighbor are quite striking. In the end, different people show their love in very different ways.
~*~ Shirley Maclaine, Debra Winger, Jack Nicholson, Jeff Daniels~*~

All of these feature dysfunctional individuals and families or how a family copes with tragedy and heartbreak. To me, they are some of the best stories ever written. Movie goers and the movie industry think so, too. All four movies were blockbusters, and all four earned multiple Academy Awards.

Still, I don't care for a steady diet. Occasionally I yearn for a good loud, outrageous Western, or a comedy such as The Bridesmaids or Sex and the City.

What about you? Steady diet or variation? 

Celia Yeary-Romance...and a little bit 'o Texas  
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