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Writerly Wednesday: Canine Companions
Strictly speaking, I'm not a fan of wacky sidekicks. They're usually intended to be comic relief, but they rarely work that way for me. I loathed the talking dog in The Accidental Demon Slayer and the wise-cracking demon/cat in Redheaded Stepchild. I don't know what it is, but a comedy sidekick character is usually a kiss of death in a book for me.
Which brings me to Ethan's sidekick, Mutt. Yeah, I know! But Mutt isn't a comedy sidekick. He doesn't talk or have supercanine powers. He's just a dog that happens to love Ethan because Ethan gave him a candy bar that one time. I've been very careful not to humanise Mutt. I don't want him to be anything other than a dog. Ethan might treat him as more-than-animal clever, but I don't want to turn Mutt into something he's not.
Anyway! That aside, Mutt is a big part of the Ethan novellas since he's the closest Ethan has to a friend, and for that reason alone I spent a lot of time today looking at pictures of Labrador mixes online trying to find one that looked like Mutt. And I did!
Look at that face! He's not quite the right colour (Mutt is more grey-black) but expression-wise, this is how I always picture Mutt looking at Ethan. Like, "you're the bestest human I know and I'm sorry there's bird poop on the carpet! Let's do something fun!" And Ethan's all, "here's a chewy bone, you adorable bastard."
So as I'm working on Undertow now, having finished the gothic romance short story, Mutt and Ethan have plenty of adventures ahead. I think Ethan needs a happy dog to help balance out the angry demon. And Mutt is like the happiest dog because his daddy takes him on adventures all the time. Like this one:
Me and Mutt wandered down the quiet halls, passing lecture rooms full of boringly attentive students. Walters' office was on the second floor and I got lost a couple of times finding my way there. The bonus was that we passed a vending machine and somebody had left a bunch of change in there, so I treated me and Mutt to a candy bar each. Mutt pretty much inhaled his. I was still eating mine when I stumbled upon Walters' office.
Which brings me to Ethan's sidekick, Mutt. Yeah, I know! But Mutt isn't a comedy sidekick. He doesn't talk or have supercanine powers. He's just a dog that happens to love Ethan because Ethan gave him a candy bar that one time. I've been very careful not to humanise Mutt. I don't want him to be anything other than a dog. Ethan might treat him as more-than-animal clever, but I don't want to turn Mutt into something he's not.
Anyway! That aside, Mutt is a big part of the Ethan novellas since he's the closest Ethan has to a friend, and for that reason alone I spent a lot of time today looking at pictures of Labrador mixes online trying to find one that looked like Mutt. And I did!
Look at that face! He's not quite the right colour (Mutt is more grey-black) but expression-wise, this is how I always picture Mutt looking at Ethan. Like, "you're the bestest human I know and I'm sorry there's bird poop on the carpet! Let's do something fun!" And Ethan's all, "here's a chewy bone, you adorable bastard."
So as I'm working on Undertow now, having finished the gothic romance short story, Mutt and Ethan have plenty of adventures ahead. I think Ethan needs a happy dog to help balance out the angry demon. And Mutt is like the happiest dog because his daddy takes him on adventures all the time. Like this one:
Me and Mutt wandered down the quiet halls, passing lecture rooms full of boringly attentive students. Walters' office was on the second floor and I got lost a couple of times finding my way there. The bonus was that we passed a vending machine and somebody had left a bunch of change in there, so I treated me and Mutt to a candy bar each. Mutt pretty much inhaled his. I was still eating mine when I stumbled upon Walters' office.
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Writers need to learn you can't force comedy. Chances are everyone will laugh at a different point in your book, you can't MAKE things funny unless you are AWESOME. And every comedian will tell you comedy is the hardest thing ever.
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I've never even attempted to write sidekick characters, because I'm not a fan of them either. But how could you not love Mutt???
(Btw, before he died, my uncle had a lab mix that looked very similar to this pic--just minus the white--he was all black!)
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