Pinar Tarhan, Author at Addicted to Writing

A Change Would Do You Good: The Complete Novel Soundtrack

Posted on January 19, 2022 Written by Pinar Tarhan

Writers often ask each other what they listen to as they write.

While I often don’t listen to music, I will listen to a particular song if that song embodies the mood or even the events of the scene.

And if my characters are listening to a song in a scene, I’ll listen to that song over and over again until I finish writing said scene.

Below is the complete soundtrack to my romcom drama novel A Change Would Do You Good. I listed which chapter the song is mentioned, as well as when/why it plays and which character plays it.

If you like rock music, and in some cases, dance music, check these songs out. If you can, play them as the characters hear them.

Ch 1

Highway to Hell – AC/DC

Janie listens to this as she drives off to her new life.

Ch 4

Four minutes – Madonna and Justin Timberlake feat. Timbaland

This is Ben’s alarm song. He dances to this every…well, afternoon. He’s got the moves.

Ch. 7

All Night – Def Leppard

Denise’s giving one of her legendary parties at her beach house again. She dirty dances to this gem with her hunky date.

My novel isn’t a clean romance, and I’d wager this song alone would disqualify me from the genre even if I tried to write one. 🙂

Sweet Emotion – Aerosmith

A gorgeous stranger puts this song on the jukebox at Denise’s party, and Kevin’s pleased to flirt with someone who shares his taste in rock music.

Ch. 9

Def Leppard – Two Steps Behind

Janie’s housewarming party is going great, but she gets emotional when she hears this come on.

Def Leppard – Rock On

We are still at Janie’s party. Life, and the party, must go on. And so it does with Rock On’s catchy riff.

Fun fact: I was there… A thousand years ago… OK, it wasn’t 1000 years ago. But it was 2006, in Sweden and I saw Def Leppard live at a rock festival. I was in the second room, and I listened to Rock On.

Ch. 10

I Like The Way – BodyRockers

Ben puts this on as he helps Linda move out. Linda isn’t too happy about his celebratory mood.

Two Steps Behind – Def Leppard

Yes, again. This time Janie puts this on purpose while going down the memory lane at Lenny’s apartment. But when it gets too much, she puts on the next song to cope.

Life Goes On – Poison

Ch. 13

21^st Century Sha La La La Girl – Def Leppard

Linda basically hears this in her head as she enjoys a shopping spree.

Ch. 15

Nothin’ But A Good Time – Poison

Linda plays this at her new job.

Ch. 16

Don’t Stop Believing – Journey

This is Janie’s ringtone. She gets an emergency work-related call.

Ch. 18

Lay Your Hands on Me – Bon Jovi

Kevin and Janie have to hitchhike, and their “saviors” make one of them drive as they make out in the backseat of the car. Song on the radio? Lay Your Hands on Me.

Surfin’ USA – The Beach Boys

After a huge fight, Kevin and Janie are ready to make up and move on when Kevin’s phone rings. This is the ringtone. On the nose? Yes. Very appropriate and in-character? Also yes. Unfortunately, the caller bears horrible news.

Ch. 20

Blind Faith – Warrant

This song plays during the novel’s last scene.

Bonus 1: Have you ever needed someone so bad – by Def Leppard

I originally wrote this novel as a TV series. (So yes, a sequel is in the works.)

I printed out each episode and handed it to my friends along with the cassette(s) the songs were on. (I was born in 1984, if the word cassette had you wondering.)

And because it was a TV series, I sometimes added mood songs. So, while a character was in deep thought, I’d name a background song.

I had to cut this song out because I cut the scene, but just because it is no longer in the story, it doesn’t mean the character still doesn’t feel this way.

It played while Kevin was thinking of Janie. He is a secret romantic, that one.

Bonus 2: Marilyn Manson. (Any song you choose by Manson is fine.)

Any time Ashley is partying, you can play a Manson song you like. If Manson’s originals freak you out a bit, how about some rockin’ covers like Sweet Dreams or Tainted Love?

Check the book on Amazon if the songs got you curious: https://www.amazon.com/Change-Would-Do-You-Good-ebook/dp/B08YJMRN4P It’s free to read on KU.

Want a specific country link? Hit me up @zoeyclark on Twitter, and I will send it over.

4 Thriller Tropes and Twists That This Thriller Fan Hates

Posted on December 22, 2021 Written by Pinar Tarhan

This is my second post on what to avoid while writing exciting thrillers. You can read the first one here.

As is customary (and necessary) with these kinds of posts, let’s get my thriller credentials out of the way.

I’m a not thriller writer yet. I’ve been however reading and watching thrillers for as long as I can remember. It’s one of my favorite genres, and over the years, I’ve developed an acute sense of what works, what is too tired, and what really shouldn’t be attempted for the good of the writer and the audience.

Let’s go over four pet peeves of mine, why/how they came to be so, and what can you do about it if you want to include them in your story.

And please remember, while readers and watchers come with all kinds of tastes and preferences, if there is one person in your audience that hates one thing, there’s a big chance there are many more people who agree.

The “They were dead all along!” ending.

Ah, yes.

This type of ending is nostalgic and takes me all the way back to 1999 – a simpler time. When your audiences (including me) hadn’t seen this ending a bunch of times before and welcomed the twist.

I welcomed it so much that it elevated the whole movie for me. Also, my bad for attempting the see the movie on the small screen. Still, watching this movie was a better experience due to this surprise ending.

You seriously need to watch it (affiliate link) if you like supernatural stuff featuring ghosts.

Then, 2 years later, another mystery/thriller/horror came out. Also featuring ghosts.

I honestly enjoyed this one (aff. link) as a whole more than the first one. Maybe because I watched it on a bigger screen, with the lights out, at home alone with a friend where we were on the sixth floor. The wind noise could get to such spooky levels that you could shoot a Paranormal Activity there without paying for sound effects.

Then the ending was…yes, they were dead all along. And… I didn’t mind. It made sense. It didn’t take away from the experience. It worked for the movie.

But this kind of ending is not the happily ever after romantic comedy overs expect and welcome. You can’t keep writing thriller after thriller with this ending and then be surprised when the audiences hate you for it.

7 years after the second movie I mentioned, a romantic mystery thriller came out. Solid actors. Interesting story. Likable characters. And then the ending…. oh, yes, you guessed it…They were dead all along.

Now, there is no law or rule that says you can’t use this ending. But it’s no longer a surprising, impressive twist.

It disappoints the reader/watcher.

Seek out the films I talked about above. See if your ending brings something different to the table.

Chances are, your audiences will prefer a more used but less “memorable” ending. Because while you want to be remembered, you’d rather be remembered for having entertained them.

Memory loss.

Ah, memory loss…

Where would most genres be without characters that suffered from some sort of temporary or permanent amnesia?

Like most things, earlier ones in the market are going to receive a better welcome. Especially if one of the earlier ones was so original in its storytelling and the screenplay.

I love the film Memento (aff.link). The story is told chronologically backward, with the ending being the beginning. And the answer to whodunnit is also just…amazing.

Memento tells the story of Leonard, a man with short-term memory loss trying to find out who killed his wife. But due to his condition, he can’t trust anyone, including himself. And this makes for a very compelling watch.

But Memento is an exception for me.

I usually get bored. If I read memory loss in the description, I put down the book. I don’t pick the film. I debate whether to continue the series.

Don’t get me wrong. Memory loss is horrible, and if it happened to someone I knew, I’d do everything I could do to help them and be there for them.

However, I don’t have the energy and enthusiasm to do that for fictional characters.

Because I have seen them so often.

While as a writer you need to put your characters through hell and make them suffer through/deal with different sorts of conflict, memory loss should be handled with care.

Is it making your story more thrilling or less thrilling?

Is it making it more or less predictable? You don’t want your audiences bored. And when it comes to predictability, they don’t want to be able to predict certain things.

How much has your audience seen this kind of memory loss in this kind of situation with this kind of character? (Be careful before you say never. They probably have.)

The protagonist has an identical twin!

I don’t have anything against twins or twin characters in fiction.

My complaint is about certain tropes.

Are your twins so radically different in personality, maybe to the point if one is a good cop and the other is a vicious criminal?

Is one twin happily married with kids living in suburbia while the other can’t stay sober, hold down a job/keep a relationship, or a job?

Do they dress as different as Marilyn Manson in make-up and a Jonas Brother?

These twins, because they are basically night and day, usually have a falling out. They don’t keep in contact.

Oh, and often, they have managed to keep it a secret from anyone that they have a twin.

Yet somehow, despite all the extreme differences, when push comes to shove, they can replace each other just like that and no one notices. (Eye roll.)

I’ve had identical twin friends, and even when they dressed alike, and their personalities were pretty similar, they were still clearly distinguishable from each other.

Despite the shared genes, these are separate people with separate identities. And the more time they spend apart, the more difficult it’d be to imitate each other flawlessly.

This is such a common plot device in so many genres, but I see it most often with thrillers.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t write about identical twins. They are fascinating. But you should know what came before you.

Bring something fresher to the table. Go to where authors haven’t traveled to so often.

Your biggest twist probably shouldn’t be “Hah, he had a twin! That explains it.” Because that is probably what the audiences guessed first and wished you wouldn’t go there.

Now, if you’ve conducted market research and found out that thrillers with twins are selling insane numbers, then fine. I guess it is what the market wants.

But be sure.

Split Personality Disorder (especially as the source of crimes/big plot twist/twist ending)

Audiences, especially those who deal with mental health issues and/or those who are sensitive about mental health in general (and yes, this is a big audience in numbers) are a bit sick of seeing people with mental health issues being the criminal and/or villain.

And certain mental illnesses fascinate writers more than others.

The movie Split (Amazon aff. link) takes a bit of a pass from me because James McAvoy is a phenomenal actor. And also because we know what we are going to watch going in.

His split personality is not the big twist. While there are some issues in the film, the diagnosis is not it.

If you are giving your villain mental illness(es), be very careful. Get help from sensitivity readers. Use trigger warnings.

And make sure you’re not pulling a variant of “they were dead all along” but in the form of “oh, one of their many personalities is the murderer!”

Some people love that twist. However, even people who loved that twist the first time might not enjoy it over and over.

Friendly Reminder

You don’t have to take my advice. You don’t really need to take anyone’s advice when it comes to your story. But it’s always a good idea to stop and consider.

How does your target audience feel about this?

And it’s always possible to combine several seemingly unrelated or not-so-fresh ideas and come up with something interesting.

As much as I have complained about memory loss, protagonists who were revealed to be dead, and twin replacement tropes, it doesn’t mean there are no stories left to tell here.

Hell, if one of your twins had complete memory loss, the other replaced him/her but then they are revealed to be dead all along? If you can coherently pull this off, send me the link to your book. I’ll take a look!

It might be pushing it to give them a split personality disorder on the top of everything, though…:)

What about you? What thriller tropes and twists are you sick of? Let me know!

8 Reasons I Procrastinate and How I Make Procrastination Work for Me

Posted on December 12, 2021 Written by Pinar Tarhan

One of the most common (and generally sound) writing advice is to write with your audience in mind. What’s their pain point? And how can you fix their problem?

Except, I sometimes do things the other way on my blog. I take my pain point and write it in a way that will relate to my audience.

This usually happens when I keep reading articles that are supposedly targeted toward me but I can’t relate to at all. And I’m not a unicorn. Chances are, there are writers who will relate to me.

So I hope this procrastination article speaks to you and that you find it relatable.

As for fixing the problem of procrastination, well… we’ll see.

Fear of what now?

The reason blamed most for procrastination is usually a tie between fear of success and perfectionism.

And when that happens, I usually stop reading whatever that is.

Because I don’t know about you, but I’m not afraid of success. Failure? Oh, yes. Absolutely. Very often. Success? No.

And I’m so not a perfectionist.

I’m by no means a perfectionist.

Sure, I like to check things. I like it when things are done right.

But I never aim for perfect. I aim for grammatically correct (as long as it doesn’t stifle style and voice), factually correct and enjoyable.

Because perfect doesn’t exist. Universally loved and accepted doesn’t exist either. So, why bother? I get that it might be the reason behind the procrastination of some writers. Just not mine.

So why do I procrastinate?

– Overwhelm (also known as overload). Whether it is due to too much information, too many ideas or specific difficulties like monetary or technical, overwhelm blocks me. It renders me frustrated.

– Underwhelm. Something is boring, repetitive and/or takes too long to get to the point. Sometimes it can be hard to figure out whether you are overwhelmed or underwhelmed. The line is thin.

– Writer’s block. How do you pitch something or write when you’re absolutely stuck?

I regularly go through what I call pitching blocks. Yes, I need to pitch guest posts to promote my novels.

And I need to pitch non-fiction article or essay ideas to editors.

But sometimes, the idea is just not there. Or the idea is there, but you can’t find a publication that is a good fit.

Sometimes you get over that hurdle, only to be rejected by the editor. Then it’s back to the drawing board.

I am often working on more than one thing, so complete writer’s block is not a thing for me.

Stuck in one scene? I move on to another. Stuck in one story? Go ahead and work on the other one. Not feeling the fiction muses? I’ll go ahead and write that blog post.

But no matter what form and magnitude writer’s block hits you, it still gets in your way.

It delays your launch plans. It might put a dent in your expected income. It will also occasionally drive you crazy.

Why can’t I find the right, exciting love story for this wonderful character of mine?

Why do I have the perfect premise for a sci-fi thriller but I can’t for the life of me figure out the personalities of my protagonists?

And why can’t I figure out the rules of this alternate universe?

– Fear of failure. Will this (whatever it is that you are learning or working on) be too hard to figure out?

Will the result have too many mistakes and/or look hideous (especially for techie things and/or things that require formatting/design)?

– Health problems. Good luck being proactive and productive when your health is bothering you a great deal.

Sure, conventional wisdom tells you to rest and sit it out, but what if your issues are chronic and the doctors haven’t figured out a solution yet? Just how much rest can you afford without going crazy and/or broke?

– Fun/being social. Yes, I admit binging Netflix too many times. Luckily, I turn that into content.

And what is sitting with friends for an hour longer? Although, if I knew Covid would hit, I would have procrastinated even harder on this front.

– Fear of failure/rejection.

I’ve been pitching for over a decade, and I still occasionally procrastinate on this.

I also call it “fear of more (unpaid) work”.

Because, if the editor rejects you, you have to look into other magazines and do more research and tweak your pitch. Then wait. Then follow up. Then maybe follow up once more before moving on. Rinse and repeat.

And if one novel doesn’t turn into the hit you are hoping for, you have to reconsider your entire marketing strategy, study some more, and gasp!, write another book – while dealing with fear and anxiety. What if this one also doesn’t work out the way I want it to work out?

Fear of more, endless, (initially) unpaid work in sight is real.

I don’t mind the work; it’s the uncertainty that gets to me. The feeling of working as hard as you can and still feeling you are not getting anywhere.

– Being intrigued by how the human mind works and how/why everyone does things. Have you ever watched videos of apartment rentals in New York even though you don’t live in the States and aren’t planning to move there anytime soon? I have.

For me, the peak of this type of procrastination is watching videos or reading about why people procrastinate. Like, I know why I do it. Why do other people? How? How often? How normal/rare/weird am I?

If this is you, you just might enjoy this Ted talk. It’s called Inside the mind of the Procrastinator.

Procrastination isn’t the end of the world. Or the end of productivity.

I’ve never missed a deadline imposed by an editor or client, including when they asked me to set the deadline. It is only right and professional to turn in my work when or before I promised I would.

Can/do I perform the same level of “professional” courtesy if I set the deadline for myself for a passion project? I think you know the answer to that one. (No, I can’t.)

Part of the reason is, I believe, my personality. I strongly recommend Gretchen Rubin’s bestselling book Better than Before (Amazon aff. link) about habits, one of the only books I’ve read on the topic that takes your personality into account before drawing conclusions and offering advice.

I’m a questioner/rebel (terms coined by Rubin). I question everything, and I only do things if I’m satisfied by the reason. I also rebel. I do something only if I want to do it. So even if I happen to set a deadline, I would rebel against me.

Does it mean I don’t get things done?

Of course not. But it is unlikely for me to say “I’ll finish this book by March 15” and then have it finished by March. I will do it as soon as possible, but I can’t give a date. And if I did, I wouldn’t stick to it. I’d probably finish it even on the 14^th or the 16^thof March just to spite my goal-setting self.

I’m trying to tone down the Questioner/Rebel in me, and luckily, I’m a total obliger when it comes to dealing with other professionals.

I’m trying to understand why I procrastinate and come up with methods to tone it down. And when I can’t tone it down, I come up with reasons to make it pay.

Make your procrastination work for you

– Watched too many episodes in a row? I pitch and write articles on it in a row while everything is still fresh in my mind.

– Spent days socializing with friends as opposed to working? I am grateful for the fun I had.

And I might or might not use the stories we shared for future inspiration. Always with their permission, of course.

So, there you go. This has been the procrastination analysis of a non-perfectionist.

If I regret any procrastination, it’s usually the mindless social media browsing or YouTube watching before I go to bed. But even then, those are my creatively and energetically dead hours.

And let’s face it, cute cats can’t be that bad for our mental health.

Could I be working instead? If I could, trust me, I’d be working.

Could I be doing something else? If there was a way I could be out safely dancing and mingling outside, I’d be doing that.

As long as I don’t hang around online past midnight (which is the latest I can go to bed where my brain and body will allow me to wake up properly in the morning), I’ll be fine.

And in those “mindless” strolling moments, I’ll still find hilarious memes, story ideas, what I want from a rental apartment, what (not) to do with my social media, where I (don’t) want to travel, and beyond.

Here’s what I want you to take away from this post:

– Not all procrastination is bad.

– Not everyone procrastinates the same way or for the same reasons.

– You can make procrastination work for you.

– Reading about other people’s procrastination reasons (and ways) will be helpful to a certain extent. But you might decide you have to work on it if you are filled with regret and disappointment afterward.

Why do you procrastinate? How do you procrastinate? And what do you do about it? Let me know in the comments.

A Castle for Christmas: A Fun Look into Movies with Writer Characters and The Netflix Christmas Movie

Posted on December 7, 2021 Written by Pinar Tarhan

A Castle for Christmas movie poster — Image via Netflix.com.

A Castle for Christmas is the latest Netflix Christmas movie released in late November so that us, Christmas romcom lovers can get their fix early on.

So let’s get started…

A Castle for Christmas starring Brooke Shields and Cary Elwes: Plot Summary (no spoilers, yet

Brooke Shields plays Sophie McGuinty (Sophie Brown after marriage), a rich, successful, bestselling author. She has forged a successful career through her series of romance books featuring Emma Gale and her love interest Winston.

The problem? Sophie commits a cardinal sin in the eyes of her fans: She kills Winston in her latest book. The fallout, as well as the upcoming marriage of her now ex-husband (whose actions did certainly inspire the killing of Winston), gives her a wonderful idea: Go to the Scotland village where her father worked and write there.

In Scotland, she immediately makes friends and happy fans who couldn’t care less she killed off Winston. She even has the almost-fell-but-saved-by-a-stranger meet cute with the handsome local and laborer Myles (Cary Elwes).

When she wants to tour the village castle where her dad spent part of his childhood, Myles offers her a private tour. But their instant attraction turns sour when Sophie sneaks around to do her own thing.

From then on, Myles is Grumpy McGrumperson, acting like he hates everything single Sophie does. It gets worse when Sophie finds out Myles is actually the duke who owns the castle.

To add insult to Myles’ injured pride, he is losing the castle to financial troubles, Sophie is his one willing buyer.

Realizing it is either the banks or Sophie, he offers a tricky deal where Sophie can invest a deposit and abide by Myles’s rules to stay in the castle and learn how to run it for a certain amount of time. Of course, the plan is to make her suffer so that she will run, losing the sizeable deposit.

Obviously, Sophie is tougher than he realized, and it doesn’t help that she is pretty, lovely and everyone loves her.

So it is the will of battles while these two try to fend off their attraction.

You really don’t need me to tell you the end. 🙂

Is it fun? Is it full of cliches? Is it pretty to look at?

Yes. Yes. And yes.

Are you looking for originality? Run.

Surprises? Go away.

Can’t stand cliches? Why are you watching a Christmas-themed romcom? What’s wrong with you?

Those who have a soft spot for Christmas, Scotland, Cary Elwes, and Brooke Shields, and the guaranteed romcom ending? You can stay. This movie is for you.

I had a blast. In addition to the soft spots I mentioned above, the movie has another major draw for me:

A writer as a protagonist.

So, for all the writers among us, let’s look at that film through that lens. And yes, let there be spoilers.

Movies with Writer Characters: A Castle for Christmas

Lessons and tips on marketing, writing, inspiration, dealing with negative reviews, and beyond

Fantasy fulfillment: Successful writer with a large backlist

My favorite part of the movie is how it fulfills my fantasies, and I’m not even talking about the duke. Yet.

I immediately empathize with and root for Brooke Shields’ character Sophie. She has lived a charmed life – having gotten a lucrative traditional publishing deal for a big series.

Being a bestseller is a dream for many of us, even if in the end we’ll just use it as an enabler of bill-paying and writing whatever we want.

In that regard, she is where we want to be in our careers.

Replace romance with the genre you write, and the traditional publishing deal with the path you prefer.

She is a romance author. Hello! Romcom drama author here. The romantic storylines are the hearts of my story. (Apologies for the necessary pun.)

She lives in a big house, has a loving and supportive daughter, and most importantly, as we will later find out, she can afford to go to Scotland on a whim and buy a castle. Financial (fantasy) goals right there.

I might not be in the market for Scotland castles, but I sure as hell want to be able to travel and buy houses when and where I like.

And instead of a daughter, I’ll take many loving and super supportive friends (which she will get pretty soon).

Her agent, despite being pushy, is also pretty sweet and capable. (Repeat after me: She has an agent who believes in her! I mean…)

So basically, right out of the gate, this movie was made for me. I was in love. Love at first protagonist reveal if you will.

And who cares about a little thing called divorce if you are going to give me a Cary Elwes later? (Is it just me, or is he the prettiest and youngest-looking 59-year-old man you’ve ever seen? Do ignore his weird smile on the poster, though.)

So of course, she has a major career-related problem too:

She has killed off a beloved character, and her readers want her head on a stick. Big f—ing whoop. (I mean…it would be nice not to have fans protesting outside The Drew Barrymore Show studio, but the silver lining is that she’s getting booked on The Drew Barrymore Show. People know who she is!!!)

Rejection and negative reviews are par for the course. But one reader’s thrash is another’s treasure. And vice versa.

She has/had readers! She can write tens of books. She can afford a castle. She can afford a big apartment. She can handle this crisis.

And she handles it beautifully (and yes, pretty luckily.)

Not all readers are the same. Great marketing lesson right there. She has fans who still love her and are actually glad Winston is gone. (I’m sure she even has fans who are sick of her main character and want stories with new characters.)

Get social. You will be inspired.

Doing different things gives us ideas. She knows what she wants to write about after a day out in the town with the duke, inspired by a lore. Different country, different people, different activities.

Exercise and fresh air motivate you and make you stronger.

OK, this is my least favorite takeaway and the least obvious one, but she does go about cycling and spends time outdoors a lot. I’m guessing that has helped her put up with the horrid accommodation conditions the duke made her put up with. I’d have gotten the flu the first week, and then after I recovered, I’d be finding legal and satisfactory ways to kick his royal and grumpy ass.

But then I don’t exercise enough, so I shall, begrudgingly, learn this lesson.

Be nice to fans, and be open to marketing ideas.

She is really great with the first one. She even takes over the castle tour and people love it. Duke’s right hand even suggests putting her books in the gift shop, and she says she wouldn’t go that far…

But she is at a stage in her career where she doesn’t need to do it. In real life, if you have a chance to do classy online marketing, take it. And if I am an author giving castle tours and people are loving me for it, you’d bet I’d give them the opportunity to buy books on site.

It’s okay to take a break. It’s okay to recharge. But don’t give up.

This is the most obvious lesson, but it is there and it’s super helpful.

A Castle for Christmas as a Christmas Romcom

Yes, it is cheesy. And sometimes, instead of falling for the duke yourself, you want to give him a good shake and say “What’s wrong with you, man?” because, repeat after me, grumpiness and negativity are not sexy.

He also sabotages his own happiness by acting against his own desires for most of the movie.

It takes him super long to separate his identity from his property and admit/accept/embrace what really matters in life and to him.

That said, he has redeeming qualities that make us forgive him.

He does acknowledge pretty early on that Sophie’s ex husband is an idiot.
He is smart and he actually has a profession other than just being a royal who inherited something.
He is hard-working.
He’s super compassionate. He did this brilliant, life-saving thing for the whole village, even though it put him at a severe disadvantage financially.
He can be super romantic.
He is attracted to a woman his age.

So you have:

The opposites attract trope but in a redeeming way. Here opposites aren’t necessarily opposites so much as they have conflicting goals and conflicting ways of dealing with problems.
Supportive, super friendly, loyal-as-hell people. No one has a bad heart in this movie. Possible? No. Do we love the escapism? Yes!
Christmas, snow, horse-riding, a castle, shiny and colorful lights, a great dance

And best of all, and I can’t stress enough, the leads are in their 50s. We don’t get enough romcoms in this age group.

(Seriously, if I get one more character who freaks about turning 30 and not being married…)

TL, DR?

– The protagonist is a prolific writer who lives the fantasy of many, many real-life writers.

– Scotland is gorgeous. Christmas can be lovely. Dances rock!

– Romantic love and sex are great at any age.

– There is a lot of cheese. Cheese and clichés abound. You have been warned.

If you spend your time complaining about how romcoms and Christmas movies are annoying and all the same and so predictable, do not watch it.

The rest of you, especially the writers, jump on board.

So what other Netflix Christmas romcoms do I recommend?

Love Hard
A Christmas Prince series (3 movies)
A California Christmas series (2 movies)
Holidate (This technically covers all major holidays and special days, but Christmas is there too!)

Want this list as a PDF? Join the Newsletter

The “They were dead all along!” ending.

Memory loss.

The protagonist has an identical twin!