Kristan Higgins on the Spark of the Divine 

Kristan Higgins is a USA Today bestselling author and two-time winner of the Romance Writers of America RITA Award… the Oscar® of the romance industry. She is the author of six romantic comedies, is under contract for three more, and has been called “one of the most honest and creative voices in contemporary romance.”

Hello! It’s such a thrill to be blogging here… like so many writers out there, I developed quite a crush on Blake Snyder while attending his workshop a couple of years ago. We romance writers love screenwriting, you see. Movies, like romance novels, have certain turning points, certain expectations, a rhythm, and a theme. Plus, you screenwriters are better-looking. Most of us sit around in our PJs. You guys are from California and New York. I assume you all have great haircuts and wear Armani and stuff like that. Please don’t disillusion me.

I was told I could pick any aspect I wanted to about Blake’s books or writing or favorite movies or what-not, and I chose spark of the divine for today. First of all, I love the term. It’s so much more inspiring than “pope in the pool,” don’t you think? And heck, all my favorite favorite moments in a great story are the spark of the divine. Movie’s been going on for an hour and a half and by now, all is lost, right? Here we are, no chance of winning now, everything sucks on an epic level, and we wish we’d never started. But then… then, oh, mommy, here it comes. Spark! Spark!

So in my obsessing and procrastinating, I’ve come across a few types of sparks, I think. Or maybe there aren’t a few types, and this was just my way of avoiding Chapter Twelve of the book I’m working on. But maybe it’s worth discussion. At any rate, here are my thoughts on the different types of sparks. Beware… there are plot spoilers in all of these examples

The Magic Talisman of Coolness. In the movies Thirteen Going on Thirty and Big, both protagonists wish to be older. In Thirteen, Jennifer Garner’s character wishes on the dollhouse her friend made her, et voila, it works, she’s 30, she has boobs, all is fantastic. In Big, the Tom Hanks character makes his wish in front of the fortune telling machine. Same thing, minus the boobies. Then, after they realize they don’t want to be grown up just yet, they’re stuck. What can they do now, but return to the scene of the crime? So when all else fails, make sure you have your magical talisman of coolness with you.

Voices from the Great Beyond. This can be something as simple as Obi-Wan’s voice floating into Luke’s head: “Luke…use the Force, dude!” In Iron Man 2, Tony Stark’s dad does the same thing. Via an old promotional film, he gives his now adult son the key to survival through what seems to be a meaningless city model. Wicked pissah, as we say here in New England. We can also look at the movie Signs (though like Blake himself, I giggled through this clusterbleep of a movie, but there’s a spark, I promise). The dying words of the preacher’s wife, uttered many months before, give the present-day characters the key to killing the Evil and Unattractive Aliens (though apparently a rain shower would’ve also done the trick). In Michael Clayton, the title character tolerates his son telling him about a scene in a book. Weeks later, as Michael’s driving, he sees it — the exact scene his son described with such passion. He gets out of the car to investigate, and what do you know, the damn car explodes. Mike is saved. Awesomesauce.

Flashback to the Future. Something from the protagonist’s past gives him the courage/energy/flash of brilliance/all of the above, and he comes up with The Solution. In Cinderella Man (one of my favorite flicks, since it contains all elements I need to enjoy a movie: sports, accents, and Russell Crowe’s arms), James J. Braddock is in the ring, having the crap beaten out of him by Max Baer, a bigger, stronger, better, meaner fighter. But then… a flashback. James remembers the empty beds of his kids, back when he had to send the little bunnies away for lack of funds. He won’t go back to being that guy. His future will be different, damn it. His children need him to be a man, and tonight, that means winning the fight. So, bloodied but not beaten, he looks at Max… and he smiles, and baby, you just know who’s gonna win that one.

Your Pure and Faithful Heart. In The Natural (another of my favorite flicks, since it features New York baseball), Roy Hobbs is in a slump. He’s aging, he’s not what he once was, the wear and tear of the season is showing… until she stands up, wearing white, backlit, glowing, and kablammy. Slump over! Minka Kelly, please take notes. The Matrix shows us the same thing. Neo’s dead. Yep, dead. But Trinity admits her love (in a creepy, postmortem kind of way… took you long enough, lady!), and bada bing, Neo’s heart starts beating again. All because of true love, baby.

But I Play One on TV. This would be when our flawed protagonist, having lived and learned through the course of the movie or book, uses what was once a flaw to save the day. In Gran Torino, crusty, unlikable Walt is quite the racist. He especially hates the Hmong who’ve moved into his neighborhood. During the course of the movie, he learns that they’re just people, etc. etc. But in the end, when he needs to get rid of the bad guys while preserving the goodness of his young friend, Thao, Walt once again turns on the racism, ethnic slurs flying from his mouth. This time, though, it’s for a good cause. He taunts the gang members, leading them to believe he’s going to shoot them, then pretends to take out a gun. When they open fire, Walt is killed — he’s offered himself up as a sacrifice (dies in crucifix position, in case we missed it). The bad guys are locked up for a long time, and Thao is able to live an untainted life. You go, Clint. You still da man!

The Mirror Is Not Your Friend. This is when the spark of the divine comes from seeing your not-so-flattering qualities in someone else. You thought you knew what you wanted… but then when you see someone living that life, you reconsider, and fast. Young Andrea becomes quite seduced by Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada, and when she puts work and glamour over family and friends, Miranda is quite proud. “You remind me of myself when I was your age,” she tells Andy, and this is the sentence that shows Andy how far she’s gone off track. Cell phone gets tossed into the fountain, and Andy’s soul is saved.

I guess the reason I love the spark of the divine in a story — or in life — is because it gives us all hope that even when things are darkest, even when we’ve fallen flat on our faces, there’s still reason to believe we can pull it all together and win the day after all.

So what about you guys? Do you recall any favorite moments of sparkiness that made you forget you’d just spent $20 on tickets, stale popcorn, and watered-down root beer? Now, not to indulge in too much self-love here, but I think I have a pretty nice spark of the divine in my fifth novel, The Next Best Thing. Leave a comment, and I’ll pick someone to get a signed copy. And maybe some chocolate, too.

Thanks again for having me. It’s a real honor.

Kristan

www.kristanhiggins.com

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