How romantic movies shaped my writing

I'd like to welcome guest author Stephanie Faris on the blog today. Stephanie is the author of 30 Days Of No Gossip and 25 Roses. When she isn't crafting fiction, she writes for a variety of online websites on the topics of business, technology, and her favorite subject of all-fashion. Today she'll reveal how romantic movies shaped her writing.

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Having been a teen in the 80s, I grew up on romantic movies. My favorite movies as a teen were those set in the high school environment. I assumed it was because I was in school myself at the time, but I didn’t realize someday I’d be a writer, with most of my books set in the school environment.

I got the idea for 25 Roses from my own life experience, but there is an underlying romantic tone throughout the book. That romantic tone is always flavored by the books, TV shows, and movies I enjoyed growing up—they shaped my view of fiction today. Here are five of my all-time favorites, four of which start with the letter “S,” oddly!

Clueless

Every girl loves a good makeover movie, right? That moment when an ordinary girl emerges looking amazing gets us all. Based on Jane Austen’s Emma, Clueless features a privileged girl who decides to help out the less fortunate by providing makeovers and matchmaking services. While 25 Roses has similar elements, unlike Cher in Clueless, Mia is hardly privileged. She helps out her fellow classmates because she relates to always being invisible. She feels as though she is one of them.

Secret Admirer

I remember seeing Secret Admirer on cable as a teen and loving it. I thought Lori Laughlin was so beautiful and I didn’t see how C. Thomas Howell could see her as a buddy. A secret admirer starts sneaking secret admirer notes into C. Thomas Howell’s locker and he assumes it’s from the prom queen. Because, of course, everyone knows prom queens have nothing better to do than sneak notes into boys’ lockers. I tried the “note in a locker” secret admirer thing when I was in school but it never quite worked out for me!

Sixteen Candles

We all love Sixteen Candles so much because Molly Ringwald’s character is so relatable. She has a crush on a boy who (she thinks) doesn’t even know she’s alive. She feels awkward and invisible compared to her beautiful big sister…Mia has that same feeling about her big sister in 25 Roses. Aside from My So-Called Life, I can’t think of another piece of entertainment that has more accurately depicted what being a teenager is like than Sixteen Candles did.

She’s All That

Freddie Prinze Jr. bets a friend he can turn the school dork into the prom queen. In the process, he falls in love with her. This film mixes commentary on school hierarchies with that makeover magic we all love.

Some Kind of Wonderful

I’m including this one because many of you may have missed it. While Mary Stuart Masterson was a little too hostile to be likeable, I loved the girl-likes-boy-who-likes-other-girl theme of this one. It also makes me feel a little better about the fact that my books seem to focus heavily on the social hierarchy in school.

There they are! I won’t say they all directly influence my writing, but they were partly responsible for my views on romance and high school. I’d be interested to hear what movies influenced other people during their tweens, teens, and early 20s.

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About Stephanie's latest novel, 25 Roses:

Mia moves from the shadows to the spotlight when her matchmaking plans go awry in this contemporary M!X novel from the author of 30 Days of No Gossip.

Mia is used to feeling overlooked: her perfect older sister gets all the attention at home, and the popular clique at school are basically experts at ignoring her. So when it’s time for the annual Student Council chocolate rose sale, Mia is prepared to feel even worse. Because even though anyone can buy and send roses to their crushes and friends, the same (popular) people always end up with roses while everyone else gets left out.

Except a twist of fate puts Mia in charge of selling the roses this year—and that means things are going to change. With a little creativity, Mia makes sure the kids who usually leave empty-handed suddenly find themselves the object of someone’s affection. But her scheme starts to unravel when she realizes that being a secret matchmaker isn’t easy—and neither is being in the spotlight.

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