Surprising Lesson from a Real Life Character

I've really been meaning to write about the man I am going to call K.

He's gotta be the strangest person I've ever met. He showed up after I'd been here for six months looking for an apartment. Right away I could tell something was off with him, but I couldn't tell what. (Because of my sister, I think I'm a bit sensitive to these things sometimes at least subconsciously even if not overtly. This doesn't mean I'm always right about it, mind you.)

He was very talkative. Plus he's the sort of person who couldn't pick up on cues that indicated the conversation was ending. I'd end up having to tell him a flat out good bye before he'd go and then it would be very abrupt and I'd wonder if he was mad at me for being so blunt.

But he wasn't. He never got mad about my being blunt. In fact, that's what he liked. He left and ended up coming back and applying for an apartment. Well I was just thrilled at the time. He was trouble all the way. Not only did he talk too much, and he brought along his 80 year old mother (he was almost 60), but he couldn't fill out his own application and so I had to do it for him as he gave me the answers one afternoon in my office.

Why would I put up with this? Would anyone else have bothered? I dunno, but I'd been taught by my old boss that sometimes you have to go out of your way to make a sale, and that's basically what I was doing. (I attack renting apartments like I'm making sales which from what I've seen is a very different tactic from the normal way apartments are rented, so let that be a reminder to me that it's okay to do things different from what's probably the standard procedure.)

Well he got it based on his own merits. That's a very simple sentence. What I mean is HE GOT IN. Well crap, that brought on a whole bunch of new issues. He hadn't moved in years, and he was freaking out (in a manly way I'll add, though I'm not sure if that makes it better or worse). Plus, once he was in, I'd have to put up with visits from him that lasted forever unless I asked him to go. (Seriously, he was in my office once for over an hour mostly talking.)


The strange part though is that in listening and learning about him, I actually found myself softening a little. Whereas before I thought he was weird, the things I learned about him sort of helped me explain his behaviors.

He comes across to me as a very blunt and honest guy, so I don't think he's lying when he tells me the things he tells me. According to him, he's been a jockey, a musician, a military man, a carnie running carnival games, a house painter, and a sanitarium worker. He goes into detail about each of these jobs and what he learned about people and other strange factoids about his life.

Is he lying? Honestly, I do have my suspicions. But he is very earnest about it and very honest and blunt about it. Plus he's simply entertaining. So I could sit there and question him about it, doubting him all the way, or I could just take what he's telling me for the most interesting story I've heard come out of someone's mouth.

At some point, I decided that the truth of it didn't matter to me. I actually do enjoy our talks (in short doses). And whether or not it's real, it's interesting.

But perhaps one of the most important things I've learned from him is to just keep at it. He manages to win over a lot of people. He talks a lot and he talks to a lot of different people about a lot of different things, and he will listen if you speak up. I'm sure there are plenty of people who doubt him, but for those people who do there are those other people he's won over who do accept and believe him and most importantly trust him.

The happy maid

I haven't read a lot of period pieces, but I have read a couple and a thought just occurred to me this morning while taking my shower. A lot of the time, when writing about powerful men, part of the package of their masculinity is that they can get any women they want and they usually do.

This of course means they have to have partners. Usually in a period piece this will be peasants or maids of some sort. And these maids are always willing and happy to be with these men. I think this is a romantic idea.

I heard one author say that in the time period she was writing in, the royalty lived like "rock stars." But I wonder about that. If you've got a powerful man hitting on you, especially if this man happens to be your boss (or even your boss' son) what's a maid to do? She's not always going to be willing. She may say yes, but if she feels that she has no other option then it's still against her will.


I've sort of been having issues with this, not in others' work, but in my own. Basically, how to approach this idea properly. I don't believe it's a spoiler to say that Henri is in this situation himself. I base a lot of the Wildlands off of what I've seen of medieval stories and what I know of the Feudal system. Henri is a powerful man, a king in his own right. He's had his share of women, but there's no way 100% of them were willing participants. (*here's something of a spoiler* And in fact, I know he had issues with this when he was younger and more impulsive.)

I've known this for a while, but I'm almost scared to present it! Rape is a tough issue to tackle at all. I wonder if in some people's eyes it makes it impossible to redeem those characters. But I've seen plenty of the type of people who I don't believe would like a character who had raped a woman buying this romantic notion that every maid is willing when a powerful man bats his eyes at her.

I'll just let my mind hover over this idea looking for weaknesses and the best way to illustrate this. I think it's possible to be good and still mess up which means even Brandon needs to watch out. I don't think he's messed up yet but that doesn't mean he won't.

And Theresa needs to watch out too. She's very powerful, and she could easily overpower a man. Women are capable of rape as well.

About Character Names

All the characters in Ruin were named long ago, probably too long ago for me to change now without feeling weird.

But I read something today. Someone wrote a little tute (okay actually a semi-long tute) about naming characters. One of her tips was to have the name have some meaning to the character. Don't be overt about it, she suggests, but do think about it.

So I decided to look up names.



Paula means small. Fitting considering her sudden misplacement. Plus, if you've noticed, she's on the larger end of the slider scale in comparison to the other characters who have been working hard to survive.

Henry means home ruler. (Henri is the french version.) Cool. I must have seen that coming, I mean King Henry and all.

The meaning for Brandon was a little difficult to find, so I'm not sure it's right. Basically it's named after a place, but there are other obscure meanings, one that is super fitting and I will not reveal.

James means "he who supplants" and was the name of one of the apostles of Jesus who may have also been his cousin.


Edith means "strife for wealth" which is also fitting if you think about it.

And Michael, that one made me laugh out loud. Did you realize that it means "he who resembles God?"