Monday, May 19, 2008

A Strange and Interesting Breed

I was thinking the other day, about how writers are a strange and interesting breed of people. Put two or more of us together and I guarantee the talk will center on something to do with our books - whether it's technique or some particularly interesting research that you found in your writing process, we always want to share.

Unfortunately, sometimes we forget we're in public when we start sharing. Like restuarant sort of public.

Consider the time I was with a group of writers and we (of course) had to discuss writing the "love" scene. Which of course, led to some quite interesting conversation about nouns and adjectives and other descriptive terms, which then led to the subject of anal bleeching, which some had not heard of at all, and others got to describe in great detail (and later pull up pictures on the internet when we were back at the hotel). We were deep (pardon my pun) into the anal bleeching part of the night when I realized an entire table of college students had stopped talking and eating in order to listen to us.

I haven't seen that kind of rapt attention in church or a rock concert. I'm pretty sure some of them weren't even breathing.

And then there's the time I was plotting one of my books (in a restuarant, of course) and trying to figure out a good way for the woman to get away with murder. So I said something like "I've got to figure out a way to kill him without suspicion. And poison is out because that's how I killed the last guy." Then I went on to discuss the rest of the plot and come up with a creative way of offing one of my characters.

But SOMEONE at the restaurant didn't realize I was writing fiction, so she followed me to the parking lot and was jotting down my license plate number as I drove away - laughing until I cried. You gotta wonder what the police thought about that phone call.

So, have you ever said anything in public that you didn't mean to be overheard???????

Deadly DeLeon

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

I can't think of any specifics, but I'm sure there have been some things because my best friend from when I lived in Austin and I used to brainstorm a lot in restaurants.

I have to admit, though, you've had some interesting incidents. *g*

Terri Osburn said...

I'm happy to say I have no idea what anal bleeching is and I'll keep it that way thankyouverymuch.

I spent 8 years on the radio and I have almost no internal editor. Bad, bad combination.

For a time I was the only female DJ at my station and we would do a little chat with me and one or two of the guys. When one asked once why I liked to watch bull riding, I answered (couple years before the song came out), "Haven't you ever heard the phrase 'Save a horse, ride a cowboy'?"

They both turned red to the tips of their ears and quickly changed the subject.

becky hutchison said...

Just looked up anal bleaching...interesting, but not for me. (Pun intended.)

At last year's National Book Festival in DC, I heard David Baldacci talk about a similar writer's experience. He was on a train and talking on the phone to a doctor friend about how to off someone without it showing up in an autopsy. Evidently the person sitting close to him was concerned and moved to another seat.

Jana DeLeon said...

LOL Tori - leave it to me to make a "scene" in a restuarant. :)

Jana DeLeon said...

LOL Terrio - I have a lot of trouble with my internal mouth meter too. I am just not one of those people who walks away thinking "i wish i would have said that."

Jana DeLeon said...

LOL Becky - I can just imagine what some of our conversations sound like to the general public.

And I'm totally with you on the bleaching thing. I figure if I am ever so perfect that I start to worry about a dime size hole I can't even see, then go ahead and bury me. :)

Christie Craig said...

Jana,

I have one question, if I look up anal bleeching, will the FBI come looking for me?

Crime Scene Christie

Jenyfer Matthews said...

Who needs to look it up? Doesn't the phrase "anal bleaching" really say it all??

I tend to be a bit of a quiet talker and I don't have any writer friends in my vicinity at present so I've been safe...so far!

Anonymous said...

I got my masters in physical anthropology with a specialty in forensic anthropology.

One of our classes spilled over into lunch time. Imagine our discussion. We didn't remember our verbal governors until the discussion of the similarity of rice to maggot masses sent a neighboring diner bolting for the bathroom.

Silly woman. Everybody else had moved to the edges of the restaurant. Or left. It was us in the center, 2 rings of empty tables around us, and a few brave souls at tables up against the walls, giving us the collective stink eye.

For college students, I think our tips were pretty darn generous when we left. ;=)

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