Leaving Characters in Limbo

What a week! Although it has been busy and fun, I didn't get to work on what I love. Haven't touched The Band in three days. I already miss my characters. Poor J.J. has been in limbo and I'll bet he's wondering where I am. I hope he understands that the elections on Nov. 2nd were so very important and that I'm glad I worked the polls so that all my fellow citizens could take the opportunity to make their voices heard. It was a long day, 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. Then more community service with the Hug-A-Bears for the children in trauma on Wednesday.

Finally, today, I got back into the writing world, at least talking about it. Cindie, Dave and I met at Hastings Books today to talk about our sales event coming up this Saturday at the Hampton Inn. We'll have a table amid a variety of home based businesses. Should be interesting. The coordinator of the event has done a lot of advertising and it's kind of fun to see my name on the flyers as if I were some important author.

I've had some experiences the past couple of days that has me wondering about what makes people tick. Friends have made some negative comments that I would never say to them and they seem to think it's funny as they laugh and try to soften their remarks. One said 'You look terrible'. That was the morning after my 16 hour day at working at the voting polls. Another loudly commented on my current lack of a love life. Then as I was asking another friend if she wanted to join me and another friend for a movie, I was told I have terrible taste when it comes to movies. Finally, after giving my opinion on a restaurant, I was told that I was too rigid. These are all good friends and I know they didn't mean to hurt, but none of them mentioned one good thing about me or comment on the good things going on in my life. None of these remarks came with suggestions as to what I should do, just what was wrong with me. Funny. Well, at least, my hairdresser said some nice things about enjoying my company and my choice to let my hair be natural. I know I pay her, but we've been friends for around 15 years, so her opinion means a lot to me. Phew, I really have ranted. Perhaps I'm just being too sensitive, but again, I have to wonder what makes people tick.

So, I guess I'll close today with this bit of sarcasm from Honore de Balzac - 'Nothing so fortifies a friendship as a belief on the part of one friend that he is superior to the other.'

Characters ``` Love 'em or Hate 'em

A day when I didn't have to leave the house! Yahoo. Those don't come to often, so I really enjoy them. Of course, my main focus was to move The Band along and I did. I've just introduced two characters who will have a deep impact on a third character. I want the reader to like all three of them, despite some bad behavior of one of them, so it will be a challenge. Characters! That's what writing is all about to me. All the stories have been told, but each character in a novel or story as the opportunity to make their particular mark on a another character or a situation. That uniqueness is what makes writing so much fun.

Had an email today from a fellow LHCWG member. She is looking for info on how to start/maintain a blog. I gave her this blogger site, but told her I'm not all that great at blogging so I didn't feel I had much to offer her. As we talked, we discussed the future of writing and the impact that the ebook world is making and how it won't be a choice, but a necessity, to know about blogging, e-marketing, twittering and facebooking. It's definitely a new world out there as to publishing.

I watched Nim's Island today and it was so much fun watching Jodie Foster portray an author who lives through her dashing and daring adventure hero only to have to take on her hero's attributes in order to save a little girl left alone on an island. Jodie was so believable as the writer and how she related, or lived vicariously, through her character.

So, with all this chatter about characters, I will sign off with this thought - " A man never discloses his own character so clearly as when he describes another's." - Jean Paul Richter