I’ve been watching waaaaaay too much Pokémon (Season One, of course!) lately. What started as a trip down memory lane has become a nostalgia obsession, and it’s not just me. The Hubby has been lucky enough to have most of his post-8PM nights off and noteless, and he’s as obsessed (if not more) than I am. The Little Guy, in contrast, doesn’t really care one way or another about it, so we typically watch an episode or two after he’s gone to bed (and with a nice glass of wine). It’s a different experience watching it at thirty compared to twelve. It’s both aged strangely and less than expected.
But I digress. Part of mentioning this is to establish the context for my confession: my “set aside” evenings for writing 2+ hours have been scarce. I’ve got a slew of explanations–some legit, some just crutches–but in the end, it comes down to commitment. I cave when it comes to isolating myself when the Hubby is home, because I know these leisurely nights won’t last come February. I treasure spending time with him, and honestly, I don’t feel guilty about shirking my own plans for that. It’s a dilemma it seems many medical-spouses experience, simply because spare, relaxing time is so very rare during residency.
And it’s not like I haven’t gotten some work done. I’ve written about 1300 words of this week’s “flash” (HAHAHAHA–! Ahh… *wipes tear of laughter from eye*) fiction piece. I haven’t made much physical process on the novel revision yet, but I have spent time figuring out how to revitalize a scene which was boring me to death, so that’s encouraging for working on it late this week.
I was going to put up a train-of-thought post about “likable” characters in fiction, but as it turns out, my feelings on that subject are much more complex than I’d originally thought, and I’d like to stew on it a bit more (and better organize my notes on those thoughts). Some of the things I’m asking myself are: Are there characters you’ve enjoyed reading about who were decidedly unlikable characters? How did the author make you care enough about their situation to push through active dislike to the end of the story? Was the character as unlikable at the end as they were in the beginning? Does a likable character have to be a good person? In what ways do authors use unlikable characters? SO…thoughts!
In the meantime, here’s a doodle:
