(no subject)

Dear Word-Gremlin

Do you think I don't notice when you change my punctuation and delete half-sentences? Do you think I won't take revenge?

(no subject)

Right now I'm full of terrible temptation. I want to go back and change all the names in every piece of fiction I've ever written. I want a core of names that get used over and over again. I want a standard name for the chief protagonist (whether nice or less so) and the same for every other character I'm ever likely to write about. Thirty names that I just use and re-use and re-use some more. I even know where to locate those names: in Medieval England. They had thirty names (or maybe fewer) that were used and re-used and re-used some more. Henry and Matilda and Richard and Eleanor.*

This has happened before. I told a group of students once I was going to call all my characters 'Fred.' I have advanced from there.

I'm working on character arcs (which are quite complex for this project, for a number of reasons) and one of my characters has a highly offensive name that is perfect in every other respect (it is such a perfect name for this person in so very many respects) and I have a name that overlaps with another book which is, just as the highly offensive name, totally perfect (except that I've used it before). I've just solved the latter, and I'm leaving the offensive name in for now. Just because.

I might offer this character to the person who wins the bid for naming rights in the flood relief fan auction? I'll ask if they want to name a male or female, and let them decide.



*Then there were a lot more names that weren't overused, but that's not relevant here. Except that I really need to read the new book about Licoricia.

(no subject)

I'm leaving the names on hold and just doing the character arcs (which is what I was supposed to be doing) but before then, I need to gloat. I forgot I hadn't gloated here about this.

Mary Victoria sent me my very first birthday present for my 50th. It's a copy of her new book, "Samiha's Song." "Samiha's Song" isn't being released for a few days so my gloat is that I get to enjoy it before any of you do. A good book is such an excellent start to a big year!

I'll be celebrating the book's release on Mary's blog - I'll let you know about that closer to the time - and my birthday isn't until April. But I wanted to gloat NOW, not leave it until everything else was happening.