And the next Apocalyptic Woman is …
January 10, 2010 | Posted by admin Who is an Apocalyptic Woman?
The question ran through my head a dozen times – no a triple thousand dozen times – these last months as I went on a selling spree for my book.
I sat at the same red Christmas table cloth in different locations – a bookstore, a library, a yoga studio, a used book store – wondering which of these women walking towards my table would be interested in reading about my character.
Dinah – my character – was an independent thinker, someone who wasn’t fearless, but tried to face her fears nevertheless. Someone who was strong, not because she thought it was admirable, but because it was necessary,
I liked my character. But that’s because I created her. And because, like all of my characters, I wanted to be like her.
But – who strolling by me and my fellow authors, my table of books, and my little cash box – also wanted to be those things? Who wanted to be an Apocalyptic Woman?
I looked at the different women – their wardrobes, how they carried themselves, and what kind of Christmas gifts they hauled.
And you know what?
I was wrong. Everytime.
An elderly woman came to our table. Shorter than me (I tower at a whopping five feet). Frail – I could have broken her in two. No way, I thought. No way she’d be interested in our book. I gave her the spiel anyway. Or Billie did. “Oh yes,” she exclaimed. “I can relate to these women. I’ve made big changes in my life, and you can’t look back. You just have to make that change.”
Hmmph. A smile spread over my face. Good for you, I thought. Smashing my biases into a dozen pieces. I needed that.
Another well-kept lady strolled by our table. Immaculate wardrobe. Her jacket fit her perfectly. She even carried her gloves lightly in one hand, not stuffed in her pockets like most Canadians. Too organized, I thought. She wouldn’t like our book about chaos and dealing with the unexpected. But her eyes lit up when we described the plot. “Oh, I love stuff like that. I’ve been thinking about making a tough decision in my life. And what you as a group of writers have done together is a bit inspiring. I’d like to read what you’ve come up with.”
Clearly, I hadn’t learned my lesson. The woman who I thought was too uppity for speculative fiction was instead a kindred spirit.
They came, one after the other, these apocalyptic women. In all sizes, shapes, and races. They all had spirit. They all shone with dynamic energy. And – the best thing of all – they all surprised me.
No wonder it’s so easy to keep on writing …. I have so many women out there to be inspired by.
Categories: Uncategorized | 
Tags: stories, women | 
5 Comments »
You never can tell what people are interested in, eh? Something about books and covers…
Glad to hear things are going well with your writing and that you’re finding it rewarding. Hope you’re well.
Jon
Hi Roxanne. Thanks for your comment. I guess I lost touch with you when you changed your blog. How can I get a copy of yr book? Sounds interesting and congrats. Brrrr well, Suki
I don’t know. I mean, I see what you’re saying. You’d be surprised at who, underneath the surface which says one thing about a person, you’d find with other qualities much closer to the ones you have. But I’ve also followed up and continue to speak with and hang with people that I thought saw things the way I did, only to find out that we actually have less in common than I thought. Or that we actually did not have things in common after hearing that they don’t take the shared beliefs seriously or actually have different meanings for particular sentiments. But in this particular case, what matters is that they can relate to a character who strives to be independent and fight fears.
You like ALL the characters you create? I think, the creation of a character for a writer is possible when there is something sympathetic or identifiable about them to the writer and reader, but I don’t think I will like all the people I create. Or……by like, do you mean like them as beings or that they are characters that entertain?
Also, I can definitely understand writing a character that you yourself would like to aspire to be. But in a way, wouldn’t one argue that, if she is FROM you, she IS you?
I didn’t know gloves stuffed in jacket pockets was a Canadian thing. I’ve seen it plenty around these parts and usually do it myself. If I were to ever have gloves (and not lose them, which is never).
Thanks Suki and Jon for dropping by – always lovely to hear from you!
Samurai – you know, I think that will be my next goal. To create a character I hate. But even the characters that are “evil” in my book / short stories – I love them. Really, I do. Cause they’re so fun to write.
And yes, I guess you are right .. the character IS me, if she’s FROM me
I guess we never know how we will face a challenge until we are there. As the saying goes: when the going gets tough – the tough hide in the cupboard
What i loved about your story (and BTW – anyone reading this who hasn’t already bought the book – WHY THE HELL NOT???) was that your central character was very believable – they had to make very hard choices and you didn’t shy away from the consequences of those decisions