It's still morning, and I've been up for a while, having ate breakfast, edited for an hour, changed my clothes, tried to comb my hair, transferred music to my new phone, and went out on the back deck to watch a deer that was walking by, which didn't run or freak out at seeing me, merely looked over with detached curiosity.
I grabbed my new phone, which I tried to record myself with last night but was too paranoid about it falling and breaking (further) and tried to get a good photo of the animal. But the camera's too new; by the time I figured out how to take a photo that wasn't a selfie (neat that it'll take clear selfies, though, I ain't complaining there), the deer had gone up the ridge a little way, joined by another one that tossed me a glance that said, "Who was he? Were you talking to that guy? How stupid can you be? Let's go."
I worked on the Halloween decoration story for a few minutes, and am anxious for it to be finished. Last night, I looked up at the first star I saw (probably was a satellite or space station, though) and wished I could find the perfect ending for it. But I recognize my limitations: I'm never going to have abs, I'll never be able to rollerblade, I'm never going to walk into a room and feel all the ladies' eyes on me, and I'm just not quite good enough a writer to find an ending that's both scary and not entirely unhappy.*
I wrote the scene just now where the mother bawls out her daughter about breaking the law, stressing that they just moved into the house, they'd signed a lease agreement that they'd abide by the rules, and they could get kicked out if the owners wanted to pursue it. That exchange sort of makes them renters rather than purchasers of the house, and that's probably stronger, since the less money they have, the more relatable they are as protagonists. But it also gave me pause.
If Katy understands that her family could get evicted because she broke the rules, why would she still break the rules again on Halloween day? Originally, Katy was a male, a big brother character who sees his little sister crying about the removed decorations and decides to make his own, just to cheer her up. It was a brilliant conceit, if you can forgive me saying so (yeah, Mr. No Self-Esteem just referred to something he [almost] wrote as brilliant . . . call a doctor quick!) because it literally forgave ANYTHING that the brother did. He could kill somebody, and you as a reader would say, "Yeah, I can see that. I'd probably kill somebody that made my little sister cry." So, his breaking the rules like that, opening the door for whatever consequences might arrive, is understandable, because boys are angry and impulsive, and they have a protective nature when it comes to their little sisters that defies logic.
If Katy understands that her family could get evicted because she broke the rules, why would she still break the rules again on Halloween day? Originally, Katy was a male, a big brother character who sees his little sister crying about the removed decorations and decides to make his own, just to cheer her up. It was a brilliant conceit, if you can forgive me saying so (yeah, Mr. No Self-Esteem just referred to something he [almost] wrote as brilliant . . . call a doctor quick!) because it literally forgave ANYTHING that the brother did. He could kill somebody, and you as a reader would say, "Yeah, I can see that. I'd probably kill somebody that made my little sister cry." So, his breaking the rules like that, opening the door for whatever consequences might arrive, is understandable, because boys are angry and impulsive, and they have a protective nature when it comes to their little sisters that defies logic.
Making the brother a female changes things--Katy, being a girl, is inherently different. Would a teenaged girl flout the law with such abandon? Would a teen girl put their whole living situation in jeopardy because her little brother is sad about losing his favorite holiday? While I imagine girls have a protective streak toward their little brothers, it's not the same thing. In our society, we're raised to believe that boys are tough and girls need protecting. And frankly, girls are smarter than boys. For example, a boy would throw a rock through the window of a teacher that gave his sister (or girlfriend) detention, but rarely would a girl be that stupid. It's something to think about, whether you agree with me or not.
But I ought to sit here, in this office chair I brought up here myself last year, and make myself write what happens on Halloween night. Not as punishment, but for the same reason I try to run the last block of my jogging each night, or raise the number of push-ups I'm supposed to do in a month. Because you're never going to get better unless you push yourself to work harder.
Here's a picture I took by the lake using my old phone, perhaps for the last time:
Please support me over on Patreon, or send me a tip via PayPal, while I'm acting so out of character.
I didn't see another living soul this trip, except once, when I went to the lake to do my recording. There was an old guy rowing his boat out onto the water just as I got there. I braced myself for his catcalls and general assholery once I started singing, but it never came. It may be that there are way fewer of those types out there than I thought. Either that or they're all out trying to disrupt protests and refusing to wear masks at church get-togethers and gun shows.
So, I went out on the back deck only once this trip. Yesterday, it was too windy, and today it was super sunny and hot. I sat down, started reading my book, and immediately fell asleep. It was one of those times where I feel like I'd been out for one minute, but the worry is that I'd been out there for an hour, roasting myself beet red in the sun, so I went in and sat on the couch, opening the book to find my place . . . and waking up more than an hour later. Whoops.
But that's what the weekend's for, isn't it?
Anyway, I got some more writing in right before it was time to go. And I got that old, melancholy feeling again that I hated to have to leave, I wish I could stay one more night, and think of what I'd accomplish. I've never been on a honeymoon, but dollars to donuts, that gotta be what that's like ("Imagine if I'd had one more night with LaShonda. I might even have gotten her to take her bra off. Sigh.").
Sit-ups Today: 277
Sit-ups In July: 1541
I drove home with only a minor incident**, and recorded a podcast on the drive home. I had listed one of my most valuable action figures for sale on Tuesday night, and I got here to discover it had sold (for a hundred dollars). That was nice, but online today, somebody boasted about finding one for only $120, when everybody else is selling theirs for $150. Whoops.
Words Today: 1317
Words In July: 8450
*That reminds me, though, after I talked about this story in my most recent Patreon address, Keith Teklits sent me a message with a suggestion for an ending to the story, trying to help me out. It touched me that somebody else gave it some thought and took the effort to let me know what he had imagined for it. I don't think I'll use his suggestion--although it definitely could work, if I set it up earlier in the story--but it's a solid one. Maybe for another story.
But I ought to sit here, in this office chair I brought up here myself last year, and make myself write what happens on Halloween night. Not as punishment, but for the same reason I try to run the last block of my jogging each night, or raise the number of push-ups I'm supposed to do in a month. Because you're never going to get better unless you push yourself to work harder.
Here's a picture I took by the lake using my old phone, perhaps for the last time:
Please support me over on Patreon, or send me a tip via PayPal, while I'm acting so out of character.
I didn't see another living soul this trip, except once, when I went to the lake to do my recording. There was an old guy rowing his boat out onto the water just as I got there. I braced myself for his catcalls and general assholery once I started singing, but it never came. It may be that there are way fewer of those types out there than I thought. Either that or they're all out trying to disrupt protests and refusing to wear masks at church get-togethers and gun shows.
So, I went out on the back deck only once this trip. Yesterday, it was too windy, and today it was super sunny and hot. I sat down, started reading my book, and immediately fell asleep. It was one of those times where I feel like I'd been out for one minute, but the worry is that I'd been out there for an hour, roasting myself beet red in the sun, so I went in and sat on the couch, opening the book to find my place . . . and waking up more than an hour later. Whoops.
But that's what the weekend's for, isn't it?
Anyway, I got some more writing in right before it was time to go. And I got that old, melancholy feeling again that I hated to have to leave, I wish I could stay one more night, and think of what I'd accomplish. I've never been on a honeymoon, but dollars to donuts, that gotta be what that's like ("Imagine if I'd had one more night with LaShonda. I might even have gotten her to take her bra off. Sigh.").
Sit-ups Today: 277
Sit-ups In July: 1541
I drove home with only a minor incident**, and recorded a podcast on the drive home. I had listed one of my most valuable action figures for sale on Tuesday night, and I got here to discover it had sold (for a hundred dollars). That was nice, but online today, somebody boasted about finding one for only $120, when everybody else is selling theirs for $150. Whoops.
Words Today: 1317
Words In July: 8450
*That reminds me, though, after I talked about this story in my most recent Patreon address, Keith Teklits sent me a message with a suggestion for an ending to the story, trying to help me out. It touched me that somebody else gave it some thought and took the effort to let me know what he had imagined for it. I don't think I'll use his suggestion--although it definitely could work, if I set it up earlier in the story--but it's a solid one. Maybe for another story.
**There was an awful scraping sound underneath the car when I got down the decline from the cabin to the road, and I thought something had lodged itself in the wheel well or worse, something had broken under the car and was dragging. It turned out that a branch from a tree had jammed itself just perfectly under the car, to the point where I couldn't pull it out. I had to sit down on the ground and kick at it until it came loose, then I threw it into the woods, hoping that it hadn't done any damage under there. It was just a minor inconvenience, but it could've been so much worse.
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