I used to like her, or at least she was tolerable. Not much of a personality, and she came across as so hapless it was a wonder she could walk upright. Probably what bothered me about her the most was that she was so pliable. Anyone could tell her to do anything and she'd just do it.
I could forgive all those traits. People grow, after all. But now I just hate her. She let various people lead her into situations that inevitably descended into chaos, and now she's feeling sorry for herself. This self-pitying, woe is me mindset drives me crazy. I can't stand people like that in real life, so why am I inventing someone I hate?
After all, who's responsible for all these bad things happening to her? Well, me, I guess. Are they happening because I subconsciously hate her? Or maybe I just don't know what to do with her, so I keep creating calamities.
It all started when she was on the road. For some sadistic reason her record label sent her out on a winter tour of small clubs in the Midwest, but she had to drive there herself and she was only allotted two hired musicians. (Her manager went along, too, because, well, that was her job.) I won't rehash everything that happened, but suffice it to say, anything that could go wrong, did. Then, after her credit card got cancelled (one of the many bad things), she only had enough gas in her tank to make it to Chance. (I know; weird coincidence.)
Number one, she doesn't want to be seen in town. Her old friend, the hotel manager, gave her a free room for the night, but she doesn't have enough money for gas to leave the next day, and she's mortified that she'll run into people from her past. She hits on the idea of selling her cowboy boots to the local western wear store, but the proprietor won't take them. He says there just isn't a market for used women's boots. She asks him if there's a used instrument store anywhere nearby where she can hock her guitar. Nope. She's got nothing else to sell. Walking back to the hotel, dejected, she doesn't notice anything out of place at first. She walks in, walks up the stairs, then realizing what she'd been too depressed to notice, turns around and runs back outside. Her car, which she'd left parked in front of the hotel, is gone.
Now, granted, that's a lot of bad stuff, and anyone would feel sorry for themselves. But maybe she could figure out a way to get out, instead of lying around moaning about her circumstances. She refuses to take any more charity and she refuses to call her mother to ask for money. Her cousin already lent her five hundred dollars, but she spent most of that on bus tickets in order to be rid of her horrid traveling companions.
Now she's wallowing in self-pity, which is why I hate her. She's gonna need to buck up.
When last I left her, she told the manager that she'd accept another free night, but she would need to work for it. She offered to do maid service, which is sort of a joke, because the hotel rarely has more than a couple of guests at a time. But he goes along with it, for her sake. She'll need to do more than that if she ever hopes to leave town.
On a side note, I managed to include one fun scene. The hotel manager asks her to walk down to the diner to pick up a breakfast order for the two of them. She doesn't relish being out and about, but he assures her that since the hour is early, she won't run into anyone. He's right; the diner is deserted. But the waitress recognizes her. At first she denies being that person, then feels foolish and admits it. The waitress asks for an autograph. Sure; fine. Then she asks for a picture of the two of them. She ends up maneuvering my main character all over the diner to find just the right spot, and is very picky about which shots are acceptable. Again, that might reflect my hate. Watching my MC being pushed and prodded like a prop was very enjoyable.
Also, when she was trying to sell her boots, the proprietor said to her, "Don't you have a hit record?" As in, why are you so desperate for money?
I know that if she doesn't start taking control, I'm going to make worse things happen. Maybe someone needs to tell her to stop feeling sorry for herself. If she has to go back to the Chance-It to wait tables, so be it. Sure, it'll be mortifying ~ not the job, but running into all her former friends ~ but maybe a little more mortification will finally snap her out of her funk; give her some control over her destiny. And face it, she's gotta own up to her past mistakes sometime.
If this character is salvageable, she'll need an attitude adjustment. Maybe it's a little too soon to pull the plug.
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