It's All About Character

Our entire state is covered with rain. Really. You pull up the radar images and the whole area is green with patches of yellow and red. I like rainy days when I can stay in the study and work. Not so much when I have things to do that require getting the Mom-mobile out of the garage. I could stand to go to the grocery store, but I'm thinking we might be scrounging up something for dinner tonight. Creme Puffs v. Carrot Cake: I gave a talk recently to my oldest daughter's Creative Writing class at her high school. There was actually one young person in the class who had never had carrot cake. Ergo, this analogy was completely lost on him. If you've never had carrot cake, go ... right now ... to your nearest local diner and order a piece. Eat it and think of me. I'll be tooting my own horn in the next paragraph, but at least by having tasted the cake, you'll understand what I'm talking about. I have a friend who is one of the world's most voracious readers. When she actually lived here and we worked in the same office (prior to my "retirement"), she was my first reader. One day, we were discussing character development, and we had both read a book that shall remain nameless, in which the characters seemed empty and lifeless. I said they were dry. Sawdust on the pages. (Harsh, yes.) She says this is the difference with my characters. Her exact words (well, perhaps slightly paraphrased as I've slept since then): "Her characters are like creme puffs with no filling. Yours are like carrot cake, with nuts and raisins. And an inch-thick layer of cream cheese icing on top." I try. Some books are plot-driven. Some are character-driven. Guess which category mine fall into? ;) Read a book. And eat a piece of carrot cake. They're both good for you. =) JB