Poor Dead Archie

I suspect most writers quite like the characters that live in their books and minds.  I really like Archie, unfortunately Archie is dead.  Poor dead Archie.  When Archie came to me he was already dead.  One reason I like Archie so much is that he is based on Cary Grant - and who doesn't like Cary Grant?  Archie was a petty thief and con man, hiding out from some fellows he double crossed.  Archie was handsome, well-dressed, well-spoken and a gentleman.  Archie was in love - really in love, not just pretending in order to carry out a con - and that's what got Archie killed.  Poor dead Archie.

I guess in a way it's good that Archie was already dead before I met him.  I think I might have trouble killing him.  I think of all the beloved characters in the Wizarding World that J.K Rowling killed - well, some died almost before she could stop it - it must have been devastating for her.   I know I'd be quite distraught if Archie had been killed before I could stop it.  However, Archie was already dead when I met him, so that makes it easier.  Poor dead Archie.

I hope this isn't weird.  I mean, I like Archie almost more than I like real people, is that weird?  Of course it's weird - I'm weird.  Which, in my opinion, makes me a good writer.  I have a ridiculously vivid imagination and all sorts of crazy weird things go on in there!  In any event, I look forward to putting Archie's story to paper even though I already know how it ends.  Poor dead Archie.

Cheers!

Reading is Good for Writing

Apparently, reading is good research for writing.  Who knew?  Well, a bunch of people, I guess.  Anyway, I love to read and should probably do more of it.  Reading good stuff - and bad stuff, for that matter - is inspirational for my writing.  I remember having a conversation with a friend about the Harry Potter series.  She wondered why I found it so compelling (for those of you unaware, I am a complete Harry Potter fanatic).  I went on for a while about the depth of the story - clearly, Ms. Rowling has reams of notebooks full of information and ideas about the whole wizarding world and its population.  I chatted about the timeless, human themes - good vs. evil, the heroic journey, love and romance, mythic beasts and metaphor.  The last thing I said was that I loved the series because I wanted to be able to write like J.K. Rowling.  That was the one thing that my friend didn't get - that wasn't something she thought about when she read books.  I was surprised.  I thought everyone read books because they wanted to write books.  Apparently not.

So, now that I've got a really good (well, I think it's really good) idea for a novel I'm reading for research.  Not just non-fiction and archival sources - part of the story is set in the 1930s.  I've started reading mystery novels published in the 1920s and 1930s to get a feel for the literature and language of the period.  Reading is very good for writing!

Cheers!