Begin Again

That's me in my home office with Tabitha, one of our family of dogs. If you were here, she'd be tail-wagging and wiggling a welcome.

I've been off this blog for about a year, and was neglecting it for a few before that - largely because Facebook and Twitter took over my social media attention, and because the romantic comedy genre itself was in the doldrums. But as of this week, I may be leaving Facebook, for reasons that should be clear to anyone paying attention, while the romantic comedy - in the wake of Crazy Rich Asians and 80 million Netflix subscribers embracing a new crop of funny love stories like To All the Boys I've Loved Before - is back in force.

I like being where I can share interesting stuff and just sound off about whatever, while engaging friends and strangers in conversation about it. It does say "other topics apropos" above, under Living the Romantic Comedy, so I'll be here appreciating the world and analyzing the likes of anything from The Kissing Booth to Karl Ove Knausgaard and beyond.

Happy to have you aboard, first time visitors and returning readers alike. I'm currently working on the revised and expanded 20th Anniversary edition of Writing the Romantic Comedy, which Harper/Collins will publish in early 2020, so as I wrestle with putting the genre's last 20 years in perspective, all input welcomed! Please do comment, and I promise to reply. 

Comments

[Stephane Guero]

Dear Billy,
It is great to read you again :)
Your comeback on this blog and the new edition of your book are great news!
I'd love to get your view on the rom-coms released over the past 12 months... Did you notice a particular trend or novelty?
Greeting from France,
Stephane

[Bernadette]

So glad you are posting again. I recently completed a romcom script and found your book very useful in finding my way through it. For me the hardest thing was building a sense of chemistry and magic between the two leads, showing the audience why these two should be together. I'm still not sure I was successful there. Looking to the future, there is obviously an appetite now for 'authored' pieces where the writer has a very personal connection to their story. Given that we haven't all met our loved ones via a 'Big Sick' style drama, do you have any thoughts about shaping messy personal lives into romcom stories?

[mernitman]

Hi Stefane from France!

I'll do a post soon to more specifically discuss this year's rom-coms - the Netflix stuff, especially. In the meantime, I can report the obvious: Every studio here in town is looking for "an Asian-American romantic comedy or comedy." Gee, I can't imagine why... ;->

Bernadette,

I think the key is separating "personal" (what actually happened to me in real life, autobiographically) and "personal" (feelings and insights I've had as a result of such experiences, which can be translated into a fictional story with universal appeal). I think if you can step back and analyze "what was the significance of that [real life event]?" and extrapolate from it some feeling/thought that makes you wonder, What if...? - you'll be on the right track. But your question gives me an idea for a post about this issue, so I'll muse further...

[Stephane Guero]

Thanks Billy for your reply. I look forward to reading your post on this year's rom-coms.
Crazy Rich Asians (that I truly enjoyed) and some fairly good rom-coms (Love, Simon - To all the boys I've loved before - Nappily ever after - Set it up...) seem to be more diverse and inclusive. They’re not only about love, they are also about tolerance. For my part, this is the kind of movie I write :)

[Josh K-sky]

Glad you're back! I'm still reading. (And, marginally, still writing.)

[mernitman]

Thanks, Josh! Glad you're still doing both.

[Anna]

So glad you’re back!

[mernitman]

Thank you, Anna! Happy to be here.

[jamy]

Hi Billy--I'm here as always, grateful to see you pop up on my feed. I have also been quite neglectful of my blog in recent years. It's funny the shift to other social media. I often think about the "love dash" when I see a rom-com. I even finally read your novel, which I bought years ago. Hope to read more here in the days to come.

[mernitman]

Hi Jamy!

How good to hear from you again. Thank you for reading the novel. Looking forward to writing about... stuff, as we lurch into the new year, so I look forward to seeing you here.