Saturday

Underwear

I've had this dream most of my adult life where I'm at school walking down the hallway in my underwear.  Most of the time I'm able to hide it or the other students don't seem to care.

I write this for no other reason but because I find it interesting and because it's been a part of my life for several years.

What has also become a part of my life recently is the realization that I may die alone.

I'm the youngest child in my family with an ever growing understanding with the way I live my life that the likelihood of having children is close to slim to none.  I could take on one of two different roads; I could make it a priority in my life to find a significant (or not so significant) other and do what I need to do to get it done - which depending on my motivation and/or circumstance, may involve deceit or a large sum of money - or I could choose to not think about it (as if that's a possiblity) and go on making choices, probably meaning that I'm not attacking life, where I find myself close to fifty knowing that if I had a child I'd be over sixty when he or she was old enough to read books with more than one central character.  

I've never been a big character bio type of writer where I must know every single characteristic with a detailed background before scene one is written but it does seem more important to me now after coming to this personal realization.

The choice to make your character an only child, the oldest or youngest of a big or small family, regardless if family is a theme or central to the plot, should be a part of your character's DNA.  Attitudes on life stemming from a history is central to understanding how one will act when presented with obstacles.