Because here’s the thing about Scott. He is a repository of facts. If he hadn’t gone into history, he’d have made a damned fine librarian, because he is also an expert in knowing what questions to ask.
And usually, when I ask him these things, I’m in a spurt of idea generation. He needs background to answer the question, but not nearly as much as I give him. Or sometimes, he needs far more.
Case in point. Sunday afternoon, I came into his office. “I have a great idea for a story!”
“Super!”
“But I need to know something.”
“OK, let me see if I can help.” He turned from the computer, giving me his full attention.
“How the hell do people slit both wrists? I mean, wouldn’t all the blood spurting everywhere after you got the first side right either negate the need to do the second side or else make it impossible?”
“ … ”
He says that a lot. “… ”. Often, the facial ellipses are followed by a question about the story. But Sunday, he e shook his head and recovered. “Do you ever have a ‘great idea for a story’ that doesn’t involve blood in some way?”
“Well…Flori… And that one about the pregnant pumpkin lady.”
“Flori is going to get bloody, and we both know it. And you didn’t call the pumpkin thing ‘a great idea for a story’. You said it was ‘a nice little story’.”
He has a point. The more grisly the idea, the more I beam when I’m writing it. “So what’s your point?”
“I think I’m married to a vampire.”
“Does this mean you don’t know how people slit…”
“Of course not.”
“I guess I’ll Google it.”
And I did. But Google wasn’t much help either.
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Jessie Powell is the Jester Queen. She likes to tell you about her dog, her kids, her fiction, and her blog, but not necessarily in that order. |
Our sounding boards must all have the patience of saints for we are a loony lot, us writers.
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Yes – and the willingness to assume that we aren’t asking these things in any desire to practice them.
Why is it that all my fave bloggers are in a different time zone? I’d have such fun discovering why it’s possible to slit both wrists with you. Wait – that sounds messed up. But it would be fun none the less! Ha! Bring on the gore.
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That’s OK, because the whole question is completely messed up to begin with!!
I’d imagine that there’s some kind of delay thing. There normally is, so I don’t put a plaster on then there’s blood everywhere. But I’d also imagine that if you were doing it in some of kind frenzied state then you probably wouldn’t notice or care. Maybe they don’t do such a good job on the second one. Poor Scott. 😉
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I think you’re right about them not doing as well on the second one!! I was imagining that once that blood started spurting, your hand would get slippery and slimy.
Maybe speed is a factor. Grab the blade, flip it across one wrist, zip to the other. Ick! I’m shivering.
When I do that (ask, that is, not slit), Jack looks up at me over his glasses with an expression
that says: I have a nasty bad cramp in my foot. Sigh…yup, poor Scott.
That may be it – you’d have to hit the right spot that first time, though!!
Seems like a perfectly reasonable question to me. I don’t know the answer, however. I suppose there is speed involved–slitting the second wrist within a fraction of a second of slitting the first. Not that I’m an expert on this or anything. Just a guess.
SOOOOOOO happy to see this email in my inbox. Thank God you’re up and running again.
Hugs,
Kathy
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As someone who wrote a real nasty, bloody, grizley western; we both know the truth. Sometimes you gotta a little bloody to make your (story) point.
Ha. That’s my mother for me. I am forever calling and starting our conversation with “Mom, does the word “sept” remind you too much of Scotland to use it in a fantasy novel?” I’m always asking her about words.
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Okay, I am playing serious catch up, and I am sorry.
I think your question is perfect. I wish I knew the answer, vicariously through somebody else, not by my own experience. I love that you’re researching something so dark. This Flori story is going to rock, Jessie. I can’t wait to read it.
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Blood is part of what makes fiction writing fun! And violence! And sex! And all of the real life taboo stuff! I would love to hear if you ever got an answer to your question about both wrists!
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Hee! Too funny!
(And I love that he helps you research/write! What a keeper!)
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This made me smile, then laugh. I thank you kindly for both. I wish I had someone like Scott.
I don’t really have a great memory, but I’m usually the one people call. That darn Google could answer most of my questions, I bet, if I only knew how to ask them right.
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