November 24, 2007
Lesley tagged me for this. Hmmm.
Here are the rules:
Link to the person that tagged you, and post the rules on your blog. Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself. Tag 7 random people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs. Let each person know that they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
Yeah, okay. Maybe.
1. I’ve been hearing an increased clamor for more about the woman behind all the fiction on this blog. Are you for real?
2. I mean, do you care that my idea of a glass of water is to fill the sucker up with ice and pour water into the cracks?
3. Yawn. The very thought makes me need a nap.
4. I’m a shoes-off kind of girl. This is reflected in my writing, as Mitchell, Kerri, and Chelle all hate to wear shoes. (Although the shoes are only the tip of Mitchell’s iceberg… so to speak.) As I develop more characters, I’m sure you’ll see more and more of them with the same issue.
5. A lot of you have asked how I can create such vivid characters. The truth is that I have no life. It’s all about the fiction. Everything I see, I try to translate over to my fictional world. This is because, as I keep insisting, I’m boring as anything. My fictional world isn’t.
6. Besides, translating it all into fiction keeps things properly hidden away from view. Like my kids. After the stalking incident where I wasn’t even the victim but still got a phone call warning me to be careful, I’d just as soon keep most parts of my life private. That was close enough, thank you. And yes, I know that’s the risk when you put yourself out there. Still, putting yourself out there doesn’t mean exposing people you love to danger.
7. From the time I was six, my dream was to be a best-selling author. I got laughed at in grad school for this ambition, and I didn’t care. But lately… the vision has changed. I’d rather be a small industry, with books and a vibrant blog and t-shirts and other merchandise. Yep, all centered around my fiction. I wish people would pop out of the woodwork and volunteer to help and make some of the hard choices I face that much easier, but clearly, my idealistic view of how the world ought to work is best saved for my fiction. Which is why I’d rather bring that to you.
See? You’re really better off knowing me through my fiction. There’s more of me in there than I think you realize you’re seeing, and given that real life and fiction are so closely entwined for me, if you’re clever you can find the real-life inspirations. Or just wait for me to at last publish the outtakes; each one has an intro that explains a bit of it, including inspirations.
I know I’m supposed to tag someone, but… that’s even less fun than talking about myself. If you do it, I’d love a link back and a note so I know to come check it out.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go write some fiction…
Bev Sykes
November 24, 2007 12:26 pm
Hi from Michelle! BR/BR/I can’t write fiction to save my soul, but I DO hate to wear shoes. Does that make me worth knowing?
David
November 24, 2007 12:33 pm
never mind those who laughed at your dreams. Give all you have to create the world you want to live in.BR/here from michele.BR/I agree that meme’s are a lot of work, and tag was more fun on a school yard.BR/off to the coast with my gal, gone for the weekend, but the laptop comes along. so C ya.
Candy Minx
November 24, 2007 1:48 pm
I did this meme a couple of weeks ago and thought it was a really good onelots of potential.BR/BR/I write scripts and make art work…and I live a fairly boring life in many ways. It sounds weird to say that…but I am not that interesting and I like to live as simple as possible. I put my imagination into creating charaters and stories and images…and I believe that is the nature of being a storyteller. I used to do improv comedy too…and I am a person who sits at a party, very friendly…but off to the side making conversation…not the soul with the lampshade…but put me on a stage as a character and doing comedy… Something else kicks in…I’m not shy and I am quite lively and funny.BR/BR/I think for some of us who make stories…we conserve energy and imagination for the narrative ya know? BR/BR/I need to make stuff up because really I am kind of boring heh heh…
Camille Alexa
November 24, 2007 3:41 pm
Blogging in your own voice once in a while doesn’t necessarily mean telling personal details about your life. BR/BR/People might mean they want to hear about things like your writing process, or your experiences connecting to other writers or fiction or your own writing (or whatever) rather than your daily schedule (stalkerville).
Susan Helene Gottfried
November 24, 2007 4:35 pm
Nah, they want my own Thanksgiving memories and that sort of thing. The details. Really. You’ll fall asleep if I go down that path. You will!
OldOldLady Of The Hills
November 24, 2007 5:30 pm
I find it fascinating that you think you are so boring, but not what you write! You ARE what you write, from what you say… I think I am one of those people who would like to know what inspires you, and interests you and compels you to crete the characters you do.BR/But I respect that it doesn’t interest you to share this kind of stuff. Everyone blogs for different reasons and it seems, yours is to create fiction! Michele says, BRAVO to you!
Marcia (MeeAugraphie)
November 24, 2007 5:43 pm
The bottom line, your blog is a success and fun and that makes you a celebrity on some scale — so, people want to know about celebrities, that’s one thing that attracts them to Trevor and the rest… so, you are stuck with the curious of us, too. BR/BR/And how many people would actually describe their glass of water that way, you made sure we knew about the cracks between the ice… grin.BR/BR/(I took the picture just by waving the camera as I took it at night on the trip to FL, i.e., dumb luck.)
This Eclectic Life
November 24, 2007 8:53 pm
Hey, girl. You just keep writing your fiction and living your dream (though I doubt seriously that you are as boring as you would have us believe–you wouldn’t be able to write as well if you were, lol). I expect you will succeed beyond even the dreams you have for yourself.BR/Kick those shoes off and write like crazy.
julia
November 24, 2007 10:23 pm
Well, stalking’s a pretty good deterrent to self-exposure. But I’m sure we’ve been treated to Susanisms through the citizens of Riverview. I love every visit!
Jean-Luc Picard
November 25, 2007 11:12 am
That’s the way to write a meme!BR/BR/Michele sent me.
Kristi
November 25, 2007 3:02 pm
Hi from Kristi! Thanks for the blog visit – I came over today and learned even more about’cha! 🙂 BR/BR/Hope your holiday was filled with family, fun and great food…
Carmi
November 25, 2007 5:59 pm
If I had a dollar for every time a naysayer scoffed at my writerly ambitions, I would have tossed my pen years ago. I’m glad you’ve always taken the path of ignoring the doofs. It’s inspiring to those of us who are inclined to do the same.
Wylie Kinson
November 25, 2007 10:38 pm
Ah – but everytime we get a glimpse of the woman behind the fiction, we just become more intrigued…BR/#7 for example 😉
Susan Helene Gottfried
November 25, 2007 11:46 pm
Oh, Carmi, I’m sure you know how hard it is.BR/BR/Really, this post should have started, “I’m a square peg in a round-holed world.” Never easy, but always, always interesting.
Sandy Carlson
November 26, 2007 10:00 am
It’s nice to read more about you, Susan! I just got tagged with this one, too. It’s a downgrade from the “8 random things” meme that came my way a few weeks ago! It’s always fun to play.BR/BR/I admire your dream. I admire the way you share your work on your blog. It’s all great stuff. BR/BR/God bless.