Let 'em Say What They Want to Say

So, I'm having a chat with my lovely Mom, Dora May.

Her old mp3 played died and she bought a new one - she wants me to load it up with her favorites; the Four Tops, the Four Lads, Tom Jones, and some dude known simply as... Mantovani.

I know - makes me a bit itchy just saying it.

Anyway...Mom bought the cheap sort of MP3 player and the ear buds look like a medieval torture device.

"Oh, I won't use those things," she tells me, "I've got Skull Candy."

We talked about quite a few things yesterday, but the thing I remember most is Mom saying..."Skull Candy". It's not a phrase you expect from the lips of a very proper, impossibly elegant 78 year old.

It reminded me of the old hamburger ad campaign where the elderly woman lifts the top half of the bun, peers inside and yells "Where's the beef?". The audience loved it.

I personally make of point of saying whatever crosses my mind these days. OK, I censor some things - that's why I still have all my teeth, but mostly I let fly the fullness of my quirky genius.

But what about the characters I create?

I wonder if I've been so busy making them "consistent" that I've denied them an opportunity to surprise.

So, today I'm going through my manuscript today to check it for "Skull Candy" and "where's the beef". I'm gonna make sure that every character gets to say a little something that surprises me.

I'll report back...

Skipping along to a tune called "Breezin' Along with the Breeze"...

Kari