WWII Barbie

Without thinking about it, the other day I happened to mention on Facebook that writing my WIP (a TV pilot set in Hollywood 1944) is like playing with Barbies. But super awesome 1940's Barbies who wear hats, gloves and stockings. Underneath the glamor, they hide secrets, wrestle with insecurities and ambition and use whatever they've got to get ahead in a man's world.

(If you ask my mom, she'll tell you that this was how I played Barbies when I was a kid. She once caught my Barbie in bed with a Gene Simmon's doll that I'd traded my Ken for.)

But to the point of this blog, this is what writing is supposed to feel like! I recently interviewed Linda Wisdom whose Hexy series has been optioned for a TV series. (The article will appear in February 2010 issue of Romance Writers Report.) She doesn't call writing writing; she calls it playing with her characters. When I heard that, it was a "D'oh!" moment because somewhere at some time in recent months I forgot to play. Even though my WIP is rather serious - I do tend to make a lot of girdle jokes but this is a first draft so who cares, right? - writing it is the ultimate play date.

So here are some of the "Barbies" I'm playing with:





And yes, this last photo is Norma Jean Dougherty, aka Marilyn Monroe.