Sep 18 2008
Backstory
There’s a lot of blogging scuttlebutt about backstory. Too much, not enough, keep it in, leave it out. And it’s true. We don’t need to know the big bang theory of evolution for every character in your novel.
Which also raises the question — how much do you really need to know about me?
Not much, but read this anyway!
Hey Amy, that was a KICK ASS article. Very awesome. And I don’t blame you. What do they mean “Don’t kill it.” Holy crap, go drink your wheat grass juice and be a hippie, but if a giant spider is in my tub…hahaha it is a dead spider.
Also, I totally get you on the scorpion thing. I talked to my husband because he was planning on moving us out to Scottsdale, AZ. I said: “Look, they have BROWN CLOUDS…dust and pollution and crap that gets in the air. They have the worst air quality in the united states, even worse than LA at times. There are wildfires which contribute to the air quality. It is DRY. It will mess up my skin. It is HOT. There are freaking scorpions and rattlesnakes. NO FREAKING THANK YOU.”
I mean, like you, I had romanticized the idea of good weather year round. I mean I love warm weather and I love being out by the pool. And the idea of lounging by the pool in the middle of January while my friends back home were huddled inside to ward against the cold was lovely. But…the too dry and too hot parts, were too much for me.
And don’t get me started on monsoon season where things actually get hot and MUGGY in AZ. And the power outages and the freakouts and holy crap, why does ANYONE live there?
At first Tom insisted and resisted because he’s a guy like that, but after a few months he turned to me and said: “Sweetie, I think you’re right. I don’t think we’d be happy there, let’s look at other options.”
And there was much rejoicing.
Beautiful article. Go, Mom! Gotta defend them babies against beasties and nasties, no matter what the crazy neighbors say.
Yesterday, I clicked the link but forgot to come back.
I loved this article! How fun! I fear the scorpions. How can they be so blase about it? Are they really deadly? How can you not get stung, if there’s so many of them? Geezuz, that’s scary.
And I don’t think I could get used to all the lizards. Man. *shudder* I have a feeling I’m going to do some time in the desert soon, but I worry about this stuff!
Nice. Should I tell you about the time I took my kids into a volcano and we watched a wasp and a tarantula battle it out? Oh, the volcano was dormant and filled with a rain forest. And they sort of forgot to tell us the part that the bees were Africanized killer bees because you know I wouldn’t have gone hiking in that bowl had I known that. It didn’t help any that this man with a rifle just suddenly appeared on the trail ahead of us and “followed” us a ways. That was an adventurous summer vacation.
I remember Mother telling us when we were kids not to play with the frogs, especially the colorful ones because their skin was poisonous. Also not to torment the scorpions (my brother).
I liked your story and yes when it comes to the kids, no way that spider would have survived my sandal assault. The tub might not have survived.