This is an odd process, writing always forward with no revision, without having planned a true narrative arc and without taking the time to assess too closely what's come before.
Going into this, I knew Danny would be broken quickly. I knew that he would be far quirkier, funnier, and more stylish than The Zookeeper's Sam. I knew he'd eat the way I dream about eating all the time.
I didn't know I'd have to return over and over to Roddy's death, in order to figure out how Danny gets through it. I didn't know how remarkable this starting prompt - this loyalty to the alphabet rosters I created a year ago -would be. That the word "elegy" would detour me back to more mourning. And I didn't know that a word like "Unitarian" would introduce me to a mall-walking Miriam who I now think might matter to Danny quite a bit.
It makes me wonder - who are Danny's parents? We know his friends a bit now - Marina, now Miriam - but where are his gay boy friends? His parents and siblings? Does he still dress so dapperly as he did on page 1?
OK - detour over. Tomorrow will bring another Danny day.
1 comment:
Watch Sam in the trailer for The Zookeeper at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z75b19HbpL8
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