lookingland

i thought i would try to do the

writers_five questions for Goodie Proctor's got my Poppet. i started out using the Chammy as my character, but couldn't really answer the questions, so i switched over to Mr. Poppet (who has proved no less easy). neverthless i include both here.

The Chammy

1 - Who is your character's confidante?
no one. that's the point. towards the end i guess he confides to Mr. Poppet and Rev. Razor, but that's more of a necessity than a matter of trust.

2 – What color would you paint your nemesis’ bedroom?
not sure he has a nemesis. he's not inclined to take anyone's antagonism as "personal". in some ways, i think Mr. Poppet is his biggest irritation at the start. and Mr. Poppet strikes me as someone who would sleep in a room with dark walls ~ hunter green maybe?

3 – Who is your character’s favorite artist?
i don't think he has one, frankly. he likes music (inclines toward that of a religious variety), i guess. but i'd be hard-pressed to pick a particular hymnist.

4 – Is he a disappointment to anyone, or is someone proud of him for his accomplishments? Why?
i'm sure his pa ain't too happy with his choices, but i don't think fathers ever stop loving their sons. by all accounts pa's grief seems very real, but i never get the impression of "disappointed" from him.

5 – What sort of place spooks him? Why?
darkness, isolation? because it would spook anyone, i think.

Mr. Poppet

1 - Who is your character's confidante?
okay, this one i can sorta answer: it's Poppet! whether that refers to a doll or a dog remains to be seen still, though i'm leaning toward dog at this point.

2 – What color would you paint your nemesis’ bedroom?
another book with no clear "villain". i guess Mr. Eck and Mr. Bing and Mr. Dolt could all be considered "the enemy" on some level. i try not to think about these guys outside of the immediate environment, so the walls are all starkly whitewashed.

3 – Who is your character’s favorite artist?
good gravy, what a question. Mr. Poppet is moravian, so i'm not sure how that affects his cultural sensibilities (but i'm guessing he doesn't do a whole lot of theatre-going or gallery-browsing). he does seem inclined toward poetry and literature and music, however. i could prolly actually answer this question if i bothered to read his harvard disertation on law and literature. hmmm ~ maybe i should do that.

4 – Is he a disappointment to anyone, or is someone proud of him for his accomplishments? Why?
tough call on this one. i'm sure the answer is yes and no but i don't plan to go into this too much. i mean who's to say? Poppet (dog or doll)? my keenest sense is that he is self-disappointed, if anything. not sure exterior opinion matters to him too much on this account.

5 – What sort of place spooks him? Why?
maybe not so much a place a state of mind? being caught with his pants down? something about his photographed expressions tells me he's inclined toward stage fright, but masks it well (he'd have to in his profession). i don't think he's timid, just civilized.

in other news regarding this project (where are we, Day Nine?): i'm starting to break my own rules. my "three sources" has doubled and now nearly doubled again in the last week. gotta nip this exponential growth in the bud because it's already out of control. i just got excited about looking into some of the less "usual" sources (i.e. going to the source instead of letting other writers interpret for me). it's always amazing to me what happens to the "facts" after 140 years of people telling these stories. fortunately, i think i know which sources i trust and which i don't.

the outline is flailing a bit. it's sprouted tentacles and is wielding a pointed stick at me.

~ * ~

and by the way, it's cooler in texas right now than it is here. it'll prolly be another hellish summer. i think my days in the midwest are definitely numbered. so much for the snowy utopia that was supposed to be minnesota. grumble grumble grouse grouse.

oh ~ and i forgot my glasses. i'm now at work and blind as a bat. swell.

: o p