After spending the week absorbing this amazing book, I had to stop and review The Complete Writer’s Guide to Heroes & Heroines by Tami D. Cowden, Caro LaFeer, and Sue Viders.
I can’t say that I actually read this book from cover to cover, but I jumped all over it,
If this girl was a character of mine, I’d first say she’s hiding something. All of the poof, while it makes for a romantic look, hides her face well.
So my question for her – Allie – is what are you hiding?
Allie – First, it’s Adelade. Allie is a tenement name. What could I possibly be hiding? My outfit is certainly not the type someone would wear if she was trying to keep incognito, right?
Silence? Since you’re left eyebrow just hit your hairline I assume that means you don’t believe me?
Okay, look, the guy I’m interested in had an invitation to this gig so I made a connection with my uncle. He knows all kinds of people. Uncle got me an invitation and it worked, too. The guy noticed me. I’m like Cinderella. I knew if I could just catch his eye, I’d be able to keep his attention.
Marji – Isn’t that sort of like tricking him into a relationship?
Adelade – No. I mean … He likes me for me. Or he will. And I’ll tell him about who I really am. I will. I just have to give him a little time is all.
Marji – What if you’re wrong? What if you draw him in and drop the other shoe and he bolts? What if his status is more important to him than true love or maybe your facade is part of the reason he’s interested in the first place.
Adelade – Surely he isn’t so shallow. But I don’t really know him. I just need him. His money will solve so many problems. He just has to fall for me.
Marji – Wow. Sacrificing for something bigger. You have deeper character than I first thought.
Your turn: What spin do you put on Adelade?
If this gal was a character of mine, she probably wouldn’t be a protagonist. I can imagine her as an antagonist. Maybe the other woman. Is that cliche’?
Desiree – In a word, yes. I’m not the other woman. I’m the woman. I don’t follow anyone else.
Marji – Quite an achievement. So why did you choose the hat you wore?
Desiree – You might as well ask why I wore the entire ensemble. It was all made to go together. And I looked amazing in it. Everyone said so. The hat was perfect, except when I arrived and the wind blew the brim cockeyed. I told the designer to make sure that didn’t happened, but did she care? No.
Marji – It’s hard to find good help?
Desiree – You have no idea. Nothing is ever done the way I want. I always have to complain or explain. Things would be so much easier if the help would figure out what they’re supposed to do before they mess it all up.
Marji – You would do a much better job if you were, say, the hat designer?
Desiree – Not that I would stoop to such a low-level, but I’d certainly do it well. I have a pulse on society, so I know what works and what doesn’t. I have an eye for design, for color and material. And I have a creative vein.
Marji – Sounds like this would be a good job for you, then. Why wouldn’t you want to do it?
Desiree – Uh, really? Do you think I’d actually be willing to work for my friends? Horrors.
Marji – So working for your friends, maybe being a maid or a waitress, would be the worst thing you could think of?
Desiree – That’s a disgusting thought. Why don’t you ask me something more pleasant?
Marji – Fair enough. What do you aspire to? You’ve got money, beauty, popularity. What could you possibly want?
Desiree – That’s much better. Hmmm. Well, I guess I want to marry the perfect man.
Marji – Why?
Desiree – I guess because that’s what I’m supposed to do. I mean all of my friends are either married or getting married. I know my mom is always pushing men on me. It gets old. Don’t get me wrong, I’d like to get married someday, I think. But I don’t want to settle for someone just because he’s …
Marji – Wealthy, successful, handsome …
Desiree – Well he has to be all of the those things. I could never marry someone who wasn’t. But I want someone who treasures me.
Marji – Is that all you want to do? That’s your only goal in life?
Desiree – Well, I plan to look really good while I’m doing it!
Okay, I would love to see Desiree plopped in the middle of nowhere. Maybe a need to change her identification and hide from someone trying to kill here. Could be fun seeing her attempt to become a waitress and keep a low profile. Oh and fall for a hometown fella. Maybe a contractor who gets grease under his fingernails once in a while.
Your turn: What am I missing with Desiree?
Taking a page from Katie Ganshert’s book (well, not literally!) I thought I would pretend this lady is a character in one of my stories and interview her.
I consider it practice, but I thought it could be fun to see what kinds of questions/answers we could share – just based on the way she looks.
I’m going to name her Nelda.
Marji – Whatever inspired you to wear a bowl of fruit on your head?
Nelda – Ha! Carmen Miranda used to wear the whole produce section. And she’s still popular long after her death. But in truth, I could barely keep a straight face as the paparazzi clicked photo after photo.
Marji – Is that why you did it? For popularity?
Nelda – Loaded question. I don’t need crazy stunts to be popular. I’m already there. I lead a charitable organization and I’m on the board for the fine arts committee of Louisville. I have more event invitations than I can actually accept and my husband’s company relies on me for attendance at their client engagements to bring social standing to their appearance. This hat thing was just a lark. But I don’t doubt that it will be remembered for some time to come.
Marji – I stand corrected. So you use your status to help others. Your charity organization, your husband’s company.
Nelda – Yes, I believe that I’ve been placed in this position in order to lift up those around me.
Marji – So what gives you your high standing. What is it about you that makes you better than those around you.
Nelda – Well, the money of course. My father’s company was extremely profitablelucrative. It provided an education of excellence and that gave me lucrative connections. My husband’s company exceeds my father’s. I guess you could say success is the best partner that I have.
Marji – Wow. What if it wasn’t?
Nelda – What do you mean?
Marji – What if your next project caused incredible failure. What would your worse failure look like?
Nelda – Well, that’s a depressing thought. Maybe something embarrassing to me? (Marji is raising her eyebrow so I’m guessing I’m not digging deeply enough.) Okay, I guess the worst thing that could happen to me would be for something to happen to my husband’s company. Maybe a layoff?
Marji – What about you being charged with fraudulent behavior on your board.
Nelda – I would never do that.
Marji – I didn’t say you did, only that you were charged. Suddenly everyone would look at you differently. You know how folks are always willing to believe the worst in others. Maybe your husband is having an affair and your new status hurts him in the company. Wouldn’t be hard for him to get a good divorce with you being a felon.
Nelda – A felon! They couldn’t actually believe I would do something to put me in jail.
Marji – Sure they could. And suddenly your a convict on probation with no money and no home. Would Mummy and Daddy let you move home? Which of your friends would stand by you? What job could you get?
Nelda – Stop already! I would have to save my good name first. Reattain my status. That’s the most important thing. None of my friends would alienate me and certainly not my parents. And the thought of my husband divorcing me over something like this is laughable.
Marji – Denial? I think we’re done here. Nelda’s deepest fear is losing her status, her reputation. The money is secondary, but I think only because she has no clue of what a financial bind really entails. She would make a great main character in a women’s fiction.
Be sure to come back next Wednesday to analyze another madam-hatter!
Your turn: What questions would you ask Nelda? How would your Nelda answer them or mine? And what would you call Nelda if you could name her anything?
Seeing some of the hat designs from this year’s Kentucky Derby inspire me with character quirk ideas.
First is this one. Originally I thought this gal was pathetically trying to imitate the sad style of the royal cousins. (And if those girls aren’t drawn from Grimm’s Fairy Tales, I’m missing something.)
But I took a closer look. Note the spoon in the strawberry bowl. What does it tell me about her? Wealthy goes without saying. I bet she laid more cash out on that hat than most folks I know will spend on a new Easter ensemble. She has a good sense of humor. Someone wearing a fascinator like this has to be willing to laugh at herself. I can imagine her being a free spirit. Maybe not exactly friendly, but certainly fun-loving and with enough money to support her outlandish activities. It wouldn’t be hard to develop a fictional character based on the assumptions I’ve made here. And throwing her into a situation where she’s lost everything would create an interesting scenario.
I love this hat! So romantic. The bigger the better, right? Well, I am from Texas. If this gal was a character of mine, she probably wouldn’t be a protagonist. She’s too perfect-looking. I could see her as an antagonist, the other woman, maybe. This gal has a perfect smile and could be just as sweet as she looks. But it seems more interesting to me if she is deeply flawed. Manipulating her man to keep her status of living. Hiding her true character – controlling, vindictive – behind a sorority-girl giggle.
This hat with all the foo-foo on top is the essence of romance. And I have a feeling, with the matching dress, that romance was what the lady was shooting for.
I could picture her as a character that is pulling out all the stops to impress someone. And failing miserably at it. Maybe she’s attempting to turn the head of someone who’s all wrong for her.
Her real prince would be one who appreciates her in blue jeans and a sweat shirt with pig tails in her hair. Maybe she’s not really what she appears to be, only pretending to fit in with this crowd. It could be that her values have twisted up by a new friendship with someone looking at her as a project.
Oh no, this can’t be a real hat. Is that a Barbie Doll on top? This looks like one of those toilet paper covers that used to be popular in the 70s. Seriously.
So this gal is a friend of the pretender from Hat #3. She’s plopped this decorative pillow on her head to make fun of the American Royalty who are hatting it in Kentucky.
One last thought: why are hats such a big deal for the Derby?
Your turn: What do the ladies in these pictures say to you?
Marji Laine 