Wednesday, July 3, 2019

Reflections of the Writer

Thought for the day: One fun thing about being an author: if someone does you dirty in real life, you can turn him into a character in your book and do with him what you will. [Me... not that I'd ever do such a cruel and heartless thing...]

As you can probably tell by that nifty badge on the left, it's that time again.Time for our monthly IWSG posts. As always, thanks to our fearless leader, Alex Cavanaugh, for founding this fine group, and
 thanks to all the other nurturing guys and gals who've helped turn it into the thriving community it is today. To join this super supportive group of writers and to see links to other participating blogs, please go HERE

Okay, so I'd love to say I've churned out twenty thousand or so fantabulous heart-wrenching words on my WIP since last we met, but that'd be a big fat lie. I haven't. I'm pretty sure my mind is still in vacation mode, but on the plus side, I've been editing an excellent book for another writer, so at least I'm doing something writerly. (ish)


Without further chatter, let's move on to this month's question, shall we?

What personal traits have you written into your characters? 

Moi? Insert myself into a story?

Would I do such a thing?

Of course I would! And I think most other writers would have to admit to doing the same thing to a certain extent. After all, those characters are our babies, so doesn't it stand to reason that they'd share a bit of our DNA?

I'm most guilty of doing this in my first novel, Hot Flashes and Cold Lemonade, where bits of my personality are scattered as liberally as salt in a bowl of popcorn. (Goes well with lemonade, dontcha think?)

Okay, you want details. The main character Pearl has more of me in her than any of the other characters. She's a bend-over-backwards people-pleaser who's a tad naive and gullible to a fault. But she loves fiercely, laughs easily, and always looks for the silver lining. Her mother Ida has my somewhat irreverent sense of humor and firmly believes that no matter what the situation, there's always something funny to be found in it. Alas, she's much more independent and assertive than I am.  A lot more stubborn, too. The only other character with a teensy bit of me in her is Rose. She and I both tend to be exuberant cooks with an inordinate knack for turning the kitchen into a veritable disaster area.

That's about it. For me, that is. Smarticus identified so much with Pearl's husband George, while he was reading the book, he said, "Hey! I never did that!" [George may or may not have a lot in common with my hubby.]

My second novel doesn't contain much, if any, of me at all. Initially, Samantha was going to be a conduit for telling about some bad stuff from my childhood, but I chickened out. Nobody wants to read that kinda stuff... and it was tearing me up to write about it. So I kinda let the characters take over and tell the story THEY wanted to tell. (Which ended up surprising me as much as it surprised my readers.)


It's hard to believe, but tomorrow is the 4th of July. Independence Day. (Where HAS this year gone?) Smarticus and I will be going to our small town festival (kinda like a big block part) and fireworks tonight. Pearl and I may not care for the noise and smoke, but he loves it, so we'll be grabbing our bug repellent (or in my case, finishing sauce... mosquitoes seem to love the way it enhances the taste of my blood!) and lawn chairs and heading that-a-way when the heat of the day loses some of its sizzle.

To all of you folks in the U.S.,  I hope you have a bang-up day tomorrow. The rest of you guys? You have a great one, too, okay?

                         Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.









62 comments:

  1. That's funny your husband said that.
    I think for most writers, we give characters traits we wish we had as much as ones we have.

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    1. I know. He totally cracked me up.

      Very true. I'm lousy at being assertive, so it feels good to create assertive characters.

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  2. I feel like I know you from your writing, so yes I can tell you liberally spritz yourself into your tales. Even with serious material, you throw in that humor. No doubt with a group, if conversation turns awkward, you manage to lob in a gem. Good stuff.
    I shall be floating in our pool tomorrow, and my cabana boy shall grill burgers. No matter what stay safe and bug free. Happy 4th.

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    1. Cool. It's neat that you think you know me. I feel the same about you and a bunch of others I've gotten to know through blogging. Then again, I'm gullible, so y'all could be pulling my leg. Heck, maybe you're a 45-year old guy with bad breath... :)

      Enjoy that pool. Looks like we're all gonna have some sizzling temperatures to go with the food on the grill. Enjoy! (Do a lap or two for me... NO, wait! Just float around a little. After all, it IS a holiday!) Happy 4th.

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    2. Will float for you. And yes, the pic you see is who I am......
      smiling at your humor.

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    3. Awesome. I think we'd get along just dandy in the real world. :)

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  3. Yes, I saw bits of you in that book and wondered about others. I think it has to be very hard not to interject part of ourselves into our writings. I have heard the expression, “ Write about what you know”. I liked Pearl.

    Enjoy your 4th. We are hoping for a rainless day and bright skies and will be celebrating with family. It won’t be at my house and all that is expected from me is an appetizer. I am good for something small like that so my kitchen will not look like it exploded.

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    1. I'm glad to hear you liked Pearl. She and I like you, too. :)

      Enjoy your 4th. It's nice to be the guest instead of the hostess, isn't it? I hope you have lots of clear skies. No rain in the forecast here. Just lots of heat.

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  4. The idea of "finishing sauce" totally cracked me up! :)

    Looking forward to a quiet 4th here with maybe a meal out then curling up to watch some movies, like Jaws. :)

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    1. So that's what kinda pal you are, eh? Laughing at my misery...? HA Seriously, bugs love me. Then again, it's rather reassuring. Means I'm still "attractive," right?

      Like Jaws? HA! Not my idea of a relaxing movie. But enjoy! Have a super 4th. I hope to be eating steamed crabs and maybe shooting some pool.

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  5. I love that your hubby pointed out things that he didn't do :) Mosquitoes seem to love me no matter how much "finishing sauce" I put on. Sigh.

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    1. Isn't that a hoot? Of COURSE a male character I love will have some of my hubby's attributes, but the character's gotta go his own way, too.

      Don't worry about the bugs. At least they think we're still "attractive." :)

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  6. I think everybody is afraid of being a writer's friend... or family member!

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    1. I dunno. It might keep them on their best behavior. :)

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  7. I take dubious pleasure in splicing people I know into characters, it feels like being some kind of sorcerer. I use bits of myself too, seems fair!

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    1. If the people we know have interesting personality traits, it'd be an abominable huge waste not to make good use of them!

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  8. I do it all the time, too! lol It's fun. And why not? I also give my characters traits that I wish I had. :)

    Happy 4th of July!

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    1. Sure. As writers, we're like mini-gods and goddesses when it comes to the realms we create. We can make our characters any way we want to make them. :)

      Happy 4th to you, too!

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  9. Good writers always have multiple personalities which they skillfully (craftily?) incorporate into their work. What we write is saturated with the infinite aspects of our inner selves.

    You did this very successfully in "Hot Flashes and Cold Lemonade".

    Have a fantastic Fourth!!

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    1. Very well-said, cowboy.

      Thank you! I didn't realize you even read my book. :)

      You have a fantastic 4th, too!

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  10. I think that the friends and families of writers should be MORE afraid that they are not part of any book. Too boring? Too horrendous to write about? I suspect that everything a writer knows, thinks they know, loves, hates, fears and/or hopes for sneaks its way into their heads and from there onto the page.

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    1. HA! Good point. :)

      I think you're right. It's impossible to completely keep personal feelings out of one's writing. And that's fine... as long as the writer doesn't get too preachy.

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  11. What a candid (and entertaining) post! Nice to know one of my favorite bloggers is also a favorite protagonist.
    "Finishing sauce" … yep. I'm gotta borrow that one!

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    1. Aw, shucks. That's a sweet thing to say. Thanks! :)

      Be my guest. I swear, it's true! Bugs absolutely LOVE me. (Darn it!)

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  12. Yep, I'd do that. Not above it. Tick me off and they may die, fictionally. I'll change their name though haha

    We all sneak things in, or just blatantly put things in there. I may go for the latter sometimes.

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    1. Better be careful with the physical descriptions... sometimes changing a name isn't good enough to mask the identity. HA

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  13. I remember when my husband test-read my first book for me. He came back with - "Is this me?" - in reference to the main male character. In the 4th book in the series, he asked it again. LOL I guess I took a few too many of his traits.

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    1. What can I say? If the main male characters are good guys, who better to model them after than the awesome guys we married? :)

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  14. I thought that Pearl was (mostly) you.

    Love,
    Janie

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    1. That's 'cause you're such a smarty pants. :)

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    2. I've never been called smarty pants before but I've gotten smart aleck plenty of times.

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    3. It's been a long time since anyone called me a smart aleck, but I'm called smart ass on a regular basis. :)

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  15. The little bits of you and of your husband sprinkled through your book made for great details and great characters. Hope you have a happy 4th!

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  16. What personal traits have I written in? Well, there's the in-born happy nature of one, the love of neatness and organisation of another, along with her belief that a cup of tea and a slice of home made cake is always a good idea.

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    1. Those bits and pieces of personal traits combine to make for one lovely lady. I love neatness and organization, too... but I'm not terribly skilled at demonstrating either. :)

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  17. I like the idea of putting people you don't like into novels, a sort of literary revenge, great! Happy Independence day, hugs, Valerie

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    1. HA! Me, too. Costs less than therapy, too...

      Thank you. Hugs back atcha.

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  18. I loved Hot Flashes and the Pearl character so I'm not surprised there was so much of you in her! I cracked up about your husband's comment too. This post made me want to go back and re-read that book. :)

    Happy 4th to you and your family!

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    1. Thanks! As you know, when anyone says they love one of your characters or stories, it feels like a very personal compliment. :)

      Happy 4th to you, too!

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  19. I loved Hot Flashes and Lemonade!

    My daughter is a writer, and I am always wary that I will pop up in her books.

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    1. Thanks! :)

      Hey, the road goes two ways. Maybe she should be wary of showing up in something YOU write! (Keeps you both on your toes...)

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  20. In my case, on the few occasions I dabble in fiction, I try to run away from myself as much as I can. :-D Which means I end up on the other side of the track meeting my OTHER self. :-)

    Greetings from London.

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    1. HA! That's an interesting way to put it. I do enjoy making my female leads more assertive than I am or ever will be. I get a thrill through their actions. :)

      Greetings back atcha! It's good to hear from you again.

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  21. Loved this Susan/Pearl. We just can't help writing about ourselves can we? And other characters we know/meet. I don't like the adage, "write what you know" because I'd prefer to write about what I want to know, but still, maybe it's too easy to write about ourselves, at least at first.

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    1. You're probably right. It may, indeed, be the easy way out to write about ourselves at first. After all, whose inner motivations do we know better? :)

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  22. I've put some of the tormentors from my youth in my books. Of course, I've changed most of their names to prevent any embarrassment (I'm not heartless, you know) or lawsuits (or stupid). The only exception is that I named the scourge of my childhood, the brothers who delighted in terrorizing the neighborhood. I'm not worried about them, though. They're probably illiterate, in jail, or dead.

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    1. HA! Ya never know. Those neighborhood terrors may have grown into fine men. Or politicians... :)

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  23. Hi Susan - the local get together for Independence Day sounds ideal ... I just hate those bugs though! Enjoy. I don't write about myself ... something comes across via the blog - but not much. I'm not doing Memoir ... no reason with no kids - that's probably a good thing ... I can't be contradicted! ... cheers and enjoy the week ahead - Hilary

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    1. Hi-ya, Hilary.

      Having kids isn't a prerequisite to writing a memoir. Matter of fact, to folks who spend decades raising children day-in and day-out, reading about an adventurous life following one's dreams sounds pretty darned exciting!

      Cheers back atcha.

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  24. I figured you had a bit of Pearl in you.

    Wait, I said that wrong.

    Pearl had a bit of you in it!

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  25. I found many characters from author close families: husband, wife, son, daughter, grandmother...etc...

    Have a great summer

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    1. I suppose including people we care about in a book is a tribute to them.

      You have a great summer, too.

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  26. I loved that book. In fact, I recently recommended it to another blogger to buy. I hope she did or does. We didn't go out this year for the 4th, and we have for as long as I can remember. My son was worried about his cat being afraid of the fireworks and asked if we could stay home and play Monopoly. Once we realized the cat wasn't in the least bit phased this year, we still thought staying in and playing the game would be more fun than fighting the crowds to get a seat (and boy do we get crowds). It ended up being an awesome way to celebrate, and it was our first Monopoly game that lasted for days! Fun! :)

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    1. Thank you so much. :)

      We ended up staying home this year, too, which suited me just fine. It was too bloody hot out there. But we didn't play Monopoly. We shot pool. I'm glad you guys had fun.

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    2. Well, nerts. I tried multiple times, but I couldn't bring up the comment section on your blog. So... I read your post about that awesome book, but I can't comment there. But I DID buy the book! It sounds feel-good fantastic. :)

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  27. I get off easy with my husband. Since mine are all romances with handsome, near-perfect heroes, he's happily certain that he was the role model for each and every one. And I'd never argue with him.

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