Differences

As a biracial family, we're always on the alert for racial questions, although they come up less often than you might think. I thought we were going there today on the walk to school:

T: You know, even though everybody thinks I'm more you, I'm half you and half Daddy.
Me: That's true...
T: Yeah. Like you know how both you and I are tall and we both wear glasses? Daddy doesn't. And Daddy and I both like tomatoes and spicy foods and you don't. So that makes me half you and half him.

Exactly right.

On this date: In 1960, The Twist hits number one.

Character Soundtracks

For my last book, fabbo Agent E sent me Priscilla Ahn's entire album which helped set the mood for the character. That character had a lot of issues going on and I love listening to the music and think about what she would do in a situation and where she would go.

For the next book I'm about to start (I am about to start actually writing it, I promise), one of the secondary characters picked her own themesong. It's Pink's new one So What. This kid is quite the bada**, and this is the perfect song for her as she rails not against a boyfriend but about all of the people who have let her down in life (and theyr've been a lot). Trouble is, I listen to it so much I can't get it out of my head. Good thing I like it, because it's playing in an endless loop 24 hours a day.

On this date: In 1970, Jimi Hendrix died.

Written in the Stars

This was my horoscope in yesterday's SF Chronicle:

It turns out you're not the apple of someone's eye. Ego-bruising to be sure, but you won't be left hanging for long. You've other takers.

If it's in the newspaper, it must be true.

On this date: In 1965, the Smothers Brothers debuted.

Hit or Miss

I was checking out of the grocery store today (not my usual grocery store, mind you) when the twentysomthing clerk referred to me as "miss". As in, "How are you today Miss?" I just looked at him because:
A. I was old enough to be his mother. I actually sat and figured it out. As long as he was under 27 (and I guarantee he was, because he was talking about going to State with the cute girl in the San Jose State sweatshirt right in front of me), I could have theoretically given birth to him.
B. Nobody has called me "miss"for over a decade. Not even those cutsie guys who are trying to get on your good side by carding you for buying wine. Please. My driver's license picture is older than they are.
C. It bugged me. When he said it a second time it really bugged me. I can only guess that this is because it was obviously said ironically. These guys probably sit in the back at the end of the shift and tell each other stories about the old ladies that blush when you call them "miss" like we all think we're being mistaken for one of their peers.

Or maybe he thought he was just being nice.

On this date: In 1620, the Mayflower left England.

What's in a Name?

Unfortunately, a lot. The right name can make a character lovable, vulnerable or distant. You could name the main character Hugo, Elmer or Jackson and even though it is the same character with the same issues, it will bring up different things for different people. In their lifetimes, most people only have to come up with names for a couple of kids (unless you're John and Kate), a few cats, a dog or two and miscellaneous goldfish. Writers have to come up with names for all of the characters in every book, main or not.

I say 'come up with' loosely, because it's more a process of deduction than creation. My characters seem to already have names and it's my job to figure out what they are. I tend to use my kid's elementary school directory for clues. I get a feeling for a character and try each name on - actually say it out loud to see if it's the right one. Is this kid a Cory or a Kevin? A Jasmin or an Emily? When you get close, the name settles down on a character like a nice winter coat that they parade around in and try on for size. If it seems to work, then I write it down in my handy-dandy story notebook so that I don't forget it. Now I have to find a last name to go with it.

I used to name characters based on names I liked rather than the names they liked. The first book I ever wrote contained a secondary character called Olivia, a name I wanted to use if I ever had girl children. Rather, I tried to call her Olivia, but apparently she insisted on being called Nina. It went on like that, jumping between Olivia when I was paying attention and Nina when I was so into the writing groove that I wasn't, until I just gave up and named her Nina for good. Now I'm a little wiser and save myself all of that "find and replace" nonsense.

On this date: In 1963, the First Baptist Church in Birmingham is bombed, killing four schoolgirls.

I Love Mondays

And I'm no longer a big fan of the Friday. Of course, I do like spending time with my family on the weekend, it's just that most of my weekends are spent watching this:




Which is okay, it's just that there is so much of it. But that's not the real reason. The real reason I don't love weekends anymore is that editors and agents tend to take the weekend off (I know, the gall). This means that there will be no exciting good news phone calls, no obsessive monitoring of email (okay, I still obsessively monitor emails, but I know realistically that nothing is coming) and the giddy feeling of possibility that greets me every morning has to wait.

Come Monday, everyone gets back to work and the possibility that everything can change starts all over again. Bring it on!

Happy soccer weekend to you all.

On this date: In 1963, Leave it to Beaver ended.

Saxophone Lessons

J has been playing alto sax in the band since last year, and since last year, we've been renting one for the lofty sum of $43 per month. Now that he's in middle school, he's decided to keep at it, so yesterday, thinking about how smart I was, I got on Craigslist and found a great alto sax for only $300. We went, he played and I shelled out the cash. He got his own sax, a backpack case for it and some music. Good move, right?

Fast forward to this afternoon, when he comes home from school all excited because the band teacher asked him if he would play tenor sax because he's doing so well. Sigh. Maybe T will want to play alto when he gets to fifth grade.

And so it goes.

On this date: In 1993, The X-Files premiered.