We all need a little help.
I’ve been the recipient of a great deal of help the last few days—in the form of my twelve-year-old son.
We were at Walmart and he wanted to purchase something there….and he was a little short. He wanted me to spot him—$40.00.
I know a good deal when I see one. He’s young, he’s strong, and he needs money. Now I have myself an indentured servant for the next month and boy: I am definitely taking advantage of that fact. Yesterday, he and I went through my desk. The process took about an hour and a half. He spent most of that time shredding, filing, and occasionally rolling his eyes. But he also had some very good ideas about how to make the process easier.
Ideas are important and we don’t always get them ourselves. Sometimes we’re so stuck in the rut of our routines (but…this is the way I always organize the desk…) that we don’t view challenges with fresh eyes.
Sidekicks are wonderful additions to our novels. Dr. Watson for Sherlock, Captain Hastings for Poirot, Robin for Batman. For one thing, they keep our protagonist from having long internal monologues about their conflicts—instead, they can share them with a sidekick. And maybe bounce some ideas off them, too.
It can be a little boring reading about the perfect protagonist who solves all their own problems. Much nicer, much more realistic, I think, to have them tell a friend about them…and maybe get a fresh perspective on their challenges.
I laughed at the indentured servant line — ha!
Wow, forty bucks for a month? I think my kids owe me about 37 years of chores.
Now, if only I could collect…
Cute story! And that is one of my absolute favorite Holmes illustrations.
Elle Parker
http://elleparkerbooks.blogspot.com/
Shame on you, enslaving your offspring over a $40 advance. LOL – Yeah, I agree sidekicks add wonderful dimension to a story line. Remember Kato in the Pink Panther series? Awesome add to the whole plot lines.
The Old Silly From Free Spirit blog
Oh, I have a sad, sad update to this post. I’ll admit I was feeling a little like Mephistopheles to my son’s Faust about making him work a whole month for 40 bucks—but hey, I’ve never been accused of not taking advantage of a great deal.
He was cleaning out the garage for me this morning (already 90 degrees and temps rising) when he got a phone call…could he pet sit for a neighbor? Looks like the gig might actually make him $40. Sighhhhhh. He’s like the big banks–ready to pay off the govt ASAP to get the govt. out of his business. :)
Great point about sidekicks…..they add depth and perception to the protagonist and avoid the long internal monologues. I like the Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child novels. They actually have a special FBI agent who sometimes plays the role of a sidekick to a police detective, at least on the surface. This of course is like a lieutenant serving a major.
Its fun to read who actually is in control though in this setting. The FBI agent is of course the smarter and more talented of the two. But to get the job done and kill a lot of bad people, the senior rank has to submit to the junior. Its a twist on the whole sidekick relationship.
– Steve Tremp
http://www.stephentremp.blogspot.com/
Great story! Quality time with the endentured one, lol. It is true, they can get quite creative at finding newer, easier ways of getting a job done.
Nancy, from Just a Thought…