Karyn’s Comments (group member since Oct 06, 2011)

Karyn’s comments from the Q&A With Karyn Bosnak group.

Cienne wrote: "Hello Karyn,

I've been following you, your blog, your life for years now since that time you've been featured in the local newspaper here. Obviously, I have always been a fan! Thank you for shar..."

Hi Cienne! Thanks for being a fan for so long!

So others know what you're talking about, the word you're referring to is "Lola" which is Filipino for grandma. I actually grew up with a number of Filipino friends and remembered the word from when I was younger.

I've gotten a lot of emails from people saying they are disappointed in the movie adaptation of the book. I can definitely see everyone's point of view and will work harder on trying to make the next book (because yes, there is one in the works!) a better movie (if it ever becomes one!)

xx

PS - I also have mad love for Manny Pacquiao.

Jennifer wrote: "You believe the movie is so much better than the book. That's so refreshing to hear. I can't imagine what it's like for authors to be told "well we like it as a whole but we're going to remove this..."

Wait, just to clarify--I don't think the movie is better than the book. I was saying the flip side of people saying the movie is bad is people saying the movie is so much better than the book. Obviously I want the movie to be good, just not too good. Ha. (I was making a joke.)

Regardless, I am so happy something I created made you laugh and brought joy to your life. Knowing this is more rewarding than having a movie get made.

Jennifer wrote: "Hello,

I was just wondering what it's like for you as a creator to see your work deconstructed in such a way as to turn it into a movie. I finished the novel recently and found its plot and the ..."

I have a very long answer for this!

First, thank you! The flip side of the movie being "less good" is "the movie is so much better than the book!" So, at least I have that. ;)

The road trip was always a big obstacle when constructing the script. It was too difficult to develop the relationship between Delilah/Ally and Colin when they weren't in the same place. Making the guys local solved that problem.

A lot more of the book was in the movie, however, than what you mention. The book starts with Delilah/Ally at the end of another failed relationship (Gregg the East Village Idiot) with a guy who happens to be her #19. She reads the article about the 10.5 average, makes a vow that "20 men" is going to be her limit, loses her job, goes to her sister's engagement party, gets drunk, and ends up sleeping with her boss Roger who turns out to be #20. Having someone say “people change” is what prompts her to start tracking down the guys. Replace Gregg with Rick (played by Zachary Quinto) and the movie starts the same way.

The sister character of Daisy and her story line of getting married and being pregnant are the same. The disapproving mother is the same. The character of the grandfather was turned into a father and a story line was created for him and the mother and to create a bit of tension. They ditched her friend Michelle and gave her bridesmaids, which did bother me because in doing so they took away one of the only people who seemed to care about her.

The exes in the movie are different, yes, but most of their elements were taken from guys in the book. I do feel like some of the exes and situations that I created in the book were better and more original than the ones in the movie. (Like, in the movie, the gay Senator wanting her to be his “beard” feels dated and is something I’ve seen before. In the book, having her crash a funeral and pretend to be a former lover of the deceased, who happens to be the former love of her now gay ex [then getting wasted with said gay ex and then high after learning two more of her exes are gay] seems a lot fresher and edgier.) However, they thought some of my guys/situations were over the top and unrealistic and wanted them to be more grounded.

There are some additions to the script that I think are better than the book (like her and Colin’s “deal”—her allowing him to use her apartment to hide out instead of just paying him), but it does suck that some of the things I thought were so important were left out—especially because the movie was beat up by the critics. So when I read someone say, “They never really go there with the number and explore the double standard,” I want to scream, “They do in the book!” And when someone says, “A modern woman wouldn’t care about her number,” I find myself cursing because they left out the important character element of her being Catholic (which absolutely affected how she felt about it.) And when someone says, “Having her go on a journey because she reads in a beauty magazine that a woman with 20+ lovers is suddenly ‘unmarryable’ is stupid,” I cringe. “20” was a self-imposed limit because if other women were finding love by 10.5 lovers, why wasn’t she? She wanted to get her number under control because if she kept going at the current rate she’d have 78 lovers by the time she was sixty years old. It had nothing to do with her being “unmarryable” after 20. She initially made her list because a priest told her to do so, so she could examine what—if anything—she was doing wrong. She started to do this but then realized that if she could make it work with one of the 20, she could get around having to look inside herself. So, her journey started from a place of denial, not because 20 was a magic number that somehow made her “unmarryable.” In hindsight, having these issues lost in the adaptation bother me more than any of the plot or character changes.

However, while the movie was in development, none of the above issues were glaringly obvious to me. I knew the script was a broad stroke of the book, but isn’t that always the case? All in all, I was happy with the movie while it was happening; I didn’t notice these things until the film was totally completed.

At the end of the day, the whole thing was a learning experience. Next time I will insist on more input and control over the process. And when that little voice inside my head says, “I think they’re making a mistake leaving xx out,” I will speak up and say something. It’s just that when you have never made a movie and you’re working with people who have that you respect and admire, it’s easy to think their choices and reasons for doing things are correct.

All in all, I do like the movie and I’m thrilled that it got made. And despite the issues with the final film, I’ve learned to love it.

Lisa wrote: "I loved both of your books. And loved the movie as well! I wonder if you think as you blogged it helped you with your writing? Or did you always have the other story in you, just waiting to get ..."

Hi! There's no doubt that blogging improved my writing. The act of doing it, of writing something every day, is the best thing an inspiring writer can do, in my opinion. (And also: reading! I'm amazed by how many aspiring writers don't read.)

"20 Times a Lady" was never a story that lived inside of me because I never really knew I wanted to be a writer. After I wrote "Save Karyn" I wasn't sure what I going to do next. I hadn't considered writing a fiction book--or even making writing a career--until my editor at the time suggested it. Right around the same time I read an article saying the average woman has 10.5 sexual partners in her lifetime and thought writing a book about a woman who freaks out because her number is twice as high would be fun. So, that's how it happened. It was never a book that lived inside of me; it was born when an opportunity met a news article.

Karyn wrote: "More a comment than a question ... back when you were still shilling for dollars, I started following you. A friend sent me your site because we had the same spelling. Sooooo, I feel like I know ..."

Hi! Thank you! I am working on a new book now that's currently titled "Crazy Bitch" (but that could change.) It's a humorous look at the stigma associated with mental illness and follows one woman's journey as she comes to terms with her own issues.

Stacy wrote: "Hi Karyn,
First, let me apologize, I haven't been to see the movie yet. But I really want to!!!
I'm curious though - how much does the movie differ from the book? You know the old saying - the bo..."

Hi! Thanks for your question! I just answered a long question in this thread that addresses this.

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/6...

Rowena (The Book Scoop) wrote: "Hey Karyn,

Did you have any say in who was cast as the characters in the movie?"

I had a good relationship with the writers throughout the process so when the time came for the producers and director to cast the movie, we would give them a list of our ideas from the three of us. I don't know how much weight (if any) our list had, but I like to think they considered our choices.

Hi everyone! Welcome to the Q&A! Please feel free to ask me anything about the process from going from book to movie or writing in general. I'll take questions from now until next Wednesday 10/19. Thanks!