Birth of a Snark

One of the issues that's I've mulled over from time to time is Bo's snarkiness. Obviously, as a snarky person, I'm not going to do well writing any other way. I mean, with my talent of finding a dark lining to every cloud, I may as well use it. But then there's the question of WHY Bo is snarky?

The people with the biggest barbs or the thickest shells are, most often, the ones who are the most sensitive. (Um, yeah... no comment.) It's a defense. It's usually honed by the people around the spiky one, whether those people realize it or not. Like Hubby-- he just encourages me by laughing at my snarky jokes. =) And the public school system. Yeah, that does wonders for a snarky attitude.

Some people turn inwards. Some turn outwards. Some do both-- keeping quiet at times and at times snarking out with sharp words. I'm kind of the latter, in that I usually prefer to have a receptive audience for my snarkiness. Or what's the point?

Thinking over Bo's character, I figured that she'd have been shaped by her speech impairment. (Raise your hand if you remember that she has an impairment.) Public schools tend to be unkind to those who are different. As a bookwork who 'talks funny', Bo would not have been looked kindly upon. But she's would have figured out that she could turn a phrase and deflect some of the insults. Just like she would have eventually figured out that she could use her body to... encourage the behavior she wanted.

In any sort of life event, there is more than one response to a situation. I see it a lot with my students-- some insist on being victims while others say fuck it and move on. While some people with a speech impairment would become withdrawn others would not.

I can't imagine an intelligent, ambitious person shrinking away from what they want to do just because they have been teased. I never did. And believe me, kids in public school were not kind to the curve-ruiner and teacher's pet. (Hey, I knew which side my bread is buttered on.) Okay, maybe some would, but how smart can they be if they let other people influence them so much?

Do you ever think about the things that shaped you? Or the things that shaped your characters?

• Currently reading: Neon Noir
• Currently writing: Blow to the Head (short story)
• Query Status: holding steady at 2 partials, 4 rejections
• Current Song: Tear you apart by She wants revenge