The Lesbian Romantic

Early Access: The Taste Of A Smile Part 31 ‘Drops’ (Community Perk Until Saturday)

Hello, my fellow romantics.

Happy New Year! I hope you’re off to a good start?

Fellow romantics in Australia, I really have no words for the suffering and the devastation in your beautiful country right now. I hope that you and your loved ones are safe. Stay safe! Big hugs! I’m thinking of you!

A few words about this episode: I called this script the ‘Grizzly bear.’ It was one of the hardest scenes to write ever for me. I can’t quite explain why without going into some story structure babbling, but if you’re interested, hit me up in the comments and I will happily tell you all about it.

Much love,

Sigrid

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31 responses to “Early Access: The Taste Of A Smile Part 31 ‘Drops’ (Community Perk Until Saturday)”

  1. Kro
    Kro

    I looove some drama

    1. Sigrid
      Sigrid

      Lol, I think you’re alone 😀

      1. Kro
        Kro

        😅

  2. Lexfan
    Lexfan

    😭 I feel for lex

    1. Sigrid
      Sigrid

      🤗 I think Lex might still surprise us!

      1. Lexfan
        Lexfan

        You just made my night. I’ll always root for her though.

  3. Mp6

    I almost cried 😥

    1. Sigrid
      Sigrid

      🤗 Awwwe! (You do know that’s a big compliment for any writer, right? Can’t help but be a little happy about this 😉 )

  4. Bernie
    Bernie

    Poor Lex……I am intrigued to hear why this was hard for you to write. I can imagine why I would find it hard but am not a writer so am probably way off base with my theory.

    1. T.M.B.
      T.M.B.

      Many of us have parents like Lex. To miss out on Mary and the love they can provide to each other because of her parents is going to be hard…I hope Mary and Lex can work it out.

      1. Sigrid
        Sigrid

        Yes, it wasn’t hard to come up with Lex’s parents. Plenty of examples all around…

    2. Sigrid
      Sigrid

      @Bernie Yay! I’d be happy to talk about it. I’m very curious about your theory first, though. Would you be willing to share it? 🙂

      1. Bernie
        Bernie

        I am a pretty simplistic person, I am sure your perspective is much more complex, but here goes…….I think Lex has a good heart (e.g. she did the right thing with regard to her work colleague being assaulted at great personal cost), I think over the time she spent with Mary at the conference she has recognised that she needs to make some changes with regard to what’s important (people over profit). I think her relationship with Mary would have been great to help Lex along this journey of personal growth. As a writer I wonder if taking this opportunity (the relationship with Mary) off Lex felt like kicking a puppy?

        1. Sigrid
          Sigrid

          Thanks so much for sharing! Actually, my perspective is mostly like yours! I do see the relationship in a different light, I think. Or maybe: the type of relationship.

          I think Mary’s friendship and the example she sets are enough for Lex to learn from. I think a romantic relationship would actually hinder her growth as long as she has not stepped into her authentic self yet. That is something only she can do, and more often than not, that’s the stuff you have to do alone.

          So, no, it didn’t feel like kicking a puppy to me! It felt like giving Lex the room to think clearly. Now, if she makes changes, she knows she’s doing it for herself, not to convince Mary to stay in the relationship, etc.

          Why this scene was so hard to write:

          I wanted to follow general story structure guidelines and yet still do things differently. In most stories, there comes a point of ‘everything goes to shit.’ It’s called the ‘all hope is lost’ moment. In many romances, my own included, that’s usually when the characters break up + break off all contact. It’s the moment I hate in every story, LOL.

          I was tired of that execution of this point in the story arc, though. I already was in Connection Concealed but couldn’t find a way around it by the time I got to that point in the story. I had another chance with this story. The challenge: you do need that heartbreak, you do need the all hope is lost, or the stakes are too low and nobody cares about how the story will end.

          So, I knew I didn’t want Lex and Mary to have the big, typical fight and then have Mary storm off. I wanted there to be more nuance. I wanted to keep her in the room long enough to not have an angry break up. I wanted it to be an honest and messy and painful one. Things definitely had to be over, but I thought they deserved a more mature split. Does that make sense?

          There’s more, though. After this ‘all hope is lost’ moment, the ‘dark night of the soul’ follows in story structure. This is when the main character sits in the dark (literally or figuratively) and thinks of how they managed to lose everything. What went wrong? What did they do wrong? It’s the soul searching every hero has to do. Usually, the hero is alone and by the end of the night/ scene, they get an idea that propels them into their final quest to do better.

          I wanted Lex and Mary to have that dark night of the soul together. They’re both heroes in this story. I also thought it would be a testament to the bond they already share. To illustrate how special it really is. Plus, I had almost no alternatives because Mary didn’t run off angrily! She’s right there! I can’t have them sitting in silence, lol. It’s a podcast!

          Mary had as much soul searching to do as Lex does, though. Lex hasn’t been willing to live openly and honestly. But Mary prides herself on living openly and honestly and has compromised those principles in her relationship with Lex! She needs to think about how and why she let that happen. She has to confront herself in this. She knows she can’t just blame Lex for it. She has to take responsibility for her choices as well.

          And so they each come to see their own shortcomings in this scene, together, without judgement toward each other (in the end). I wanted that for them. I think it empowers them both.

          1. Bernie
            Bernie

            Absolutely makes sense! Thanks for sharing. I look forward to listening to the rest of the story unfold. I do like that Mary is not blaming Lex but knows she has some work to do too. I found it more heartbreaking because it wasn’t a screaming row and storm off 😥

          2. Lise
            lisegreen

            Thanks for the explanation Sigrid… I am with Bernie on that one, it’s actually deeper because of the lack of screaming, instead of anger there’s sadness and resignation. I actually feel more connected to the story now, I don’t know if it’s because this resembles past experiences … Looking forward to see how you managed to go forward with the plot.

            1. Sigrid
              Sigrid

              It has the same effect for me. I feel like I have lived through this conversation so many times. I had no trouble whatsoever to recall what my body felt like while sitting somewhere and trying to get words out of my mouth. Maybe that’s also part of why it was so hard to write this scene. It’s fiction and yet very real at the same time.

  5. Tiff
    Tomboyswaggin

    This is deep! Poor Lex and Mary! Breaks my heart

    1. Sigrid
      Sigrid

      🤗

  6. 10a 💜🇧🇪
    B10a

    Interesting I thought it would head this way. Still think Mary will regret it later. Welcome to the club I started 2020 with the stomac flue 🙄 seems to be going around. Wondering why this one was hard to write.

    1. Sigrid
      Sigrid

      🤗 Hope you feel better soon! The stomach flu SUCKS!

  7. Matcha
    MatchaJ

    Ouch 😥

    1. Sigrid
      Sigrid

      🤗 (This hug smiley looks a bit too happy for the occasion but it’s the only one I got!)

  8. Heather
    SunshineNRage

    😢😢😢

    1. Sigrid
      Sigrid

      Awwwe! *hug!*

      1. Heather
        SunshineNRage

        They need to hurry up and be better! This is a lot harder when I’m not binging the episodes and can skip right to the make-up! 😉

        1. Sigrid
          Sigrid

          I’ll let them know 😉

  9. Marcie53

    I had to go back and listen to the previous episode and then this one alone at 4:30am. It makes more sense now. You did a great job writing this and I like the music at the end too. I am curious still about the title of this part. Thanks for everything and hope you feel better soon.

    1. Sigrid
      Sigrid

      Thank you, Marcie. Rain drops, tear drops and Lex drops to the floor 🙂

  10. Thea

    Totally loved this episode!❤ Very emotional! Loved it even more after you broke it down for us. Thanks btw. Kind of made me want to work on myself more in case I find my Mary one day!😉😊

    1. Sigrid
      Sigrid

      ❤️❤️❤️ Thank you, Thea! I think our ‘Mary’ usually magically shows up when we’re (finally) ready. The universe has a weird sense of humor. 😉

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