In which I seek NaNoWriMo inspiration from the blogosphere
Help me, blog readers! I've signed up for 30 days of madness and I'm feeling terribly, horribly, completely SANE! If you've never heard of National Novel Writing Month ("NaNoWriMo" to friends), you can find a description of it here. And hey, while you're there, you can join us and write YOUR novel in a month. Why not? It's raining anyhow.
But here's my dilemma:
I need some characters.
I need YOU!
Won't you make up a character for me to put in my book? Do NOT be serious. My book is full of eccentric people who live in a small farming town...not unlike our little electronic village here in the Blogworld. Won't your characters join me? Please?
* Tell me your character's name (make something up. Make it reasonably silly, please!) If the name doesn't give it away, you can specify gender and age.
* Tell me how I'll recognize your character when s/he is standing in line next to me at the little grocery store. (Clothing? a bizarre facial tic? an unusual ethnic accent? a distinctive companion?)
* Tell me about an incident in your character's life that the town will never forget. Hitting the lotto is good, but accidentally puking on the mayor is better. Especially if she was dressed as Santa Claus at the time...
Ready?
GO!
You can put your answers in the comments section below. it's okay to make up a bunch of characters--it's a long way to November 30th! I'll try to post excerpts from the novel featuring your characters as they appear during the month.
Edsel Rabin, the neighborhood hippie. Talks vaguely about tending his crops. Gained notoriety and a misdemeanor charge when he entered a photo of his Halloween pumpkin in the local paper's contest, completely unaware that his stash and paraphernalia were lying next to it on the counter.
ReplyDeleteMuriel-- a nervous, rabbity woman who suffers from undiagnosed OCD. She's long past the point where she should be on medication and is rapidly approaching the point where she should probably receive clinical help in an actual clinical settings.
ReplyDeleteShe's average height and a little on the plump side--- her round muffin top hangs in a depressed fashion over her nonexistent hips. The stirrup leggings she's worn on a daily basis since the early 80s only emphasize the negative aspects of her apple shape.
Her house is filled to the brim with neatly organized paper goods - paper towels, tissue boxes, rolls of toilet paper... if they go on sale, she can't resist purchasing... especially if the sale ends in an even number. She's obsessed with even numbers.
Last Tuesday she created a bit of a scene at the local Texaco station when she refused to stop pumping gas until the last number was an even number. By the time the gas station noticed what was going on, Muriel was frantically arm-flapping, standing in a puddle of gas that had spilled down the side of her car and halfway down the street. WHIRRR. CLICK. WHIRRR. CLICK. $32.31. $32.35. $32.37. $32.41.
By the time she hit $38.16 the fire department had been called and the station was shut down for hours to cleanup the hazmat situation.
Why was that so much more fun than writing something for my own story??? :(
ReplyDeleteLuLu Rubidoux lives in a quaint single room apartment above the antique furniture store on Main Street. Lulu arrived on the train last March as it was making its final stop before the rail line was shut down for good.
ReplyDeleteHer arrival in that pretty sundress and vibrant, huge red hat had the town young men all a twitter. They could not help but notice her long, slender legs and the shift of her short dress as it whispered against tanned skin.
Lulu departed the train station and walked the few short blocks to Main Street despite wearing heels. She carried an old wooden suitcase missing a latch in one hand and a cat carrier containing one, bright orange tabby cat in the other.
After a few months in town, Lulu had made friends with the antique store owner, old Mr. Reese. They were often spotted through the store front's glass windows enjoying a glass of ice tea and sitting on an old credenza.
The young men in the town started to notice that pretty Lulu was still single, even after being in town for several months. It became a game to see who could catch her attention as she shopped around the downtown stores in her red hat. The only one who could even get Lulu to agree to a lunch date was Billy Ross. Billy worked in the hardware store a few doors down from the antique store apartment where Lulu lived.
On a sunny Saturday, Billy and Lulu walked down to the creek for a late lunch. Lulu had packed a basket of sandwiches and cold fried chicken, and Billy carried a few bottles of wine from his parent's cellar. They shared great conversation, and the afternoon flew by, along with all the bottles of wine.
Billy offered to escort Lulu home to her apartment, and of course Lulu accepted graciously. They gathered up their picnic and Lulu planted her red hat firmly on her head against the breeze. Soon they arrived at Lulu's stairway leading up to her apartment above the antiques, where Lulu quietly invited Billy in.
Ecstatic, Billy accepted and followed her through the door where he was greated by the orange cat twisting and meowing around his ankles. Lulu excused herself and disappeared behind a changing screen. Billy glanced up from the cat and could not help but watch her shadow behind the screen. He thought she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Afraid of being caught watching her shadow change, Billy bent down and picked up Lulu's bright red hat that had slipped of the edge of a chair. As he stood up, hat in hand, Lulu emerged from behind the screen and faced him, where he saw, without question...
Pretty Lulu was a man.
The End :)
@Becky: Muriel is my character's landlady. The rented apartment has closets and crannies stuffed full of toilet paper, the fridge is fill of paper towels, and the oven(!) is full of paper plates. Nice crisis in the making--thanks!
ReplyDelete@Leah: Edsel will wander through the feed store in a few chapters, hunting for just the right fertilizer for his "crops."
@Rebecca: pretty Lulu made such an impact on the little town when she first arrived, but these days she one of the most beloved secretaries that Skookum High School has ever had. She's grey of hair, but her charm hasn't dimmed a bit.
Who else wants to play?
Miss Birdie May Rouse
ReplyDeleteSpindly legged spinster, arthritic, plain spoken to the point of folks flinching at thought of a "conversation", this old broad calls a spade, a freakin' spade! You'll recognize her by the very bowed legs dressed in purple spandex tights , muddy halfchaps, a silver braid hanging down her scoliotic backside, shes the longrider that crossed the country twice on her mule (though she is currently lucky to find her way across town), and says that Tevis "is for sissys. Give her any crap and she'll eyeball you, size you up, and have a swig from flask in her saddle bag before she puts you in your place.
Well it's not raining here and we sure could use some, so I won't be writing a novel, but I'll try to help you with yours. But just so you know, I think you are creative enough to make a novel very funny and entertaining all on your own. :)
ReplyDeleteHere goes:
Mr. Chaza Cheveux is an eccentric French hairstylist who own his own salon in town called "Dames Chauves".
Interestingly enough Chaza Cheveux is competely bald, except for his furry black uni-brow.
Chaza is a secret collector of discarded hair and creates intricate artwork using human and animal fur, painstakingly placing each strand of hair in textural patterns of portraits and landscapes. Most people who see Chaza's art, don't even realize that what they are looking at is hair.
People are often creeped out by him and the way he stares at their hair, instead of looking at their face when sharing a conversation.
He was once caught "trimming" a gorgeous red head's tresses at a cafe in town. Chaza couldn't help himself as he had in mind to create a stunning picture portraying the lengendary Phoenix using her flaming red hair.
(Wouldn't it be fun if Lulu Rubidoux had Red Hair?)
~Lisa
Lisa, I was thinking the same thing!! That is so funny. :)
ReplyDeletelol! Great minds, ya know :)
ReplyDeleteIt just fits somehow. hah!
~Lisa