A Selection from a Comedy of Aristophanes December 7, 2007

found while studying for Western Civ

They’re always abusing the women,
As a terrible plague to men:
They say we’re the root of all evil,
And repeat it again and again;
Of war and quarrels, and bloodshed,
All mischief, be what it may:
And pray, then, why do you marry us,
If we’re all the plagues you say?
And why do you take care of us,
And keep us so safe at home,
And are never easy a moment,
If ever we chance to roam?
When you ought to be thanking heaven
That your Plague is out of the way -
You all keep fussing and fretting -
“Where is my Plague today?”
If a Plague peeps out of the window,
Up go the eyes of the men;
If she hides, then they all keep staring
Until she looks out again.

Any Resemblance to Persons Living or Dead Unintentional December 3, 2007

Have you ever noticed that line on the copyright page of a book? Yes, I read copyright pages. I used to laugh, wondering who on earth would be so dumb as to imagine that the author tried to shape a character off of them.

Ahem. As I progress on the novel I’m writing, I’ve begun to worry. So many of my characters started out based on someone in my family or social circle. By intent? Well, yes and no. I had an idea for a story, that is closely related to my family’s hometown and the conflicts there. But I didn’t want my family to be in the story. However, as I read through my work…uh-oh. There’s uncle so-and-so. There’s cousin Jane. Whoa…there’s ME!

Oops.

Granted, this may be only obvious to me. I’ve also noticed that as my chracters become more clear on paper, they develop more characteristics unique specifically to them and not to the other members of my family that they remind me of. Hopefully by the time I’m really finished with the book, the resemblance will only be in my memory.

Does this only happen to me, or is this a common occurence with writers?