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Tonight, my husband and I are going to the midnight showing of Quantum of Solace. James Bond for Queen and Country, or personal vengeance. (My husband was walking by and he typed in the last sentence, thank you.)

Despite the fact that we’re frugal in so many ways, he and I go to first-run movies a lot, especially anything that has special effects and/or things blowing up. I admit that while I’m quite feminine, I’d rather watch a sci-fi thriller than any romantic comedy known to man.

So he and I go to the cinema, and I almost always buy expensive popcorn (which I love, but my husband doesn’t like popcorn) and a diet soda (which we share). He picks the movie seats: usually near the middle right at the back, although tonight he has assures me we’ll be sharing one of the bench seats so we can cuddle up against each other.

But I am a writer going to see a movie. Writing has been my obsession for a couple of decades. So, I sit in the darkened theater and I watch the trailers. I never like to miss the trailers because there’s always a part of my own mind that is thinking through how the book I’m writing would play out in a trailer. After that, the movie starts and I watch the movie on two levels: as a spectator, and as someone who knows the structure.

Luckily, my husband says it’s interesting that I’ve taught him things like “Death of the Mentor”, which is one of the staples of mythic structure, and therefore, modern movies (which rely heavily on mythic structure).

I find it inspirational, and at the same time, I find it disheartening that the movie I’m watching, or the movie in the trailer is complete and out in the world while my magnum opus never quite seems to get there. I write shorter work, but my swing-for-the-fences, big publisher masterwork has been pushed aside over the past couple of years by work priorities. In fact, I worry that if I take much longer, someone else is going to write the story and get it out before I do. It will really suck if they do a better job, too.

But at midnight, I will be watching Quantum of Solace with popcorn in my lap, my husband’s hand in mine, and the back of my brain buzzing, trying to figure out what the trailer to my magnum opus would look like (I’m having serious structure issues).

I’m going to get through NaNoWriMo, and then do some editing, but stick around for my New Year’s Resolution, because 2009 is going to be the year when I swing for the fences.

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