Welcome to meryl’s notes blog (this here place you’re lookin’ at) in Plano, Texas. We’re honored to be a stop in Elisa Lorello‘s WOW! Women On Writing Blog tour. We’re giving away a copy of her book Ordinary World. Read on to see how you can win.

About Elisa Lorello: She grew up on Long Island, NY as the baby to six older siblings. Growing up during the ’80s, Elisa covered her walls with Duran Duran posters and used lots of hairspray. She explored many passions, including drawing, tennis, and music, but in her early 20′s, exercised her gossiping skills while working as a manicurist. She now lives in North Carolina where she teaches academic writing at North Carolina State. In 2004, Elisa began her first novel, Faking It. Since then, Elisa has written a sequel, Ordinary World, and is currently co-writing a third novel with friend and former student, S.R. Paquette. That is, when she can tear herself away from her favorite form of entertainment–Facebook.

From Faking It to Ordinary World: The evolution of a character by Elisa Lorello

Andi Cutrone was conceived back in 1999 after I watched a brand new show that was taking popular culture by storm called Sex and the City. I had written an essay about how I envied Carrie and company for their boldness to talk about subjects that had been so taboo when I was growing up. A what-if had entered my mind: What if there was a woman who was so inhibited about sex that she needed someone to teach her the things she never learned and was too afraid to ask? And what if the person to teach her was a male escort?

It wasn’t until five years later that I actually did something about this what-if. Its original title was “The Escort”; three quarters into the first draft, I changed the name to Faking It. Because I didn’t believe myself to be a fiction writer (which is why it took me so long to start, but the idea just wouldn’t go away), I figured nothing was ever going to come of this project — no one would ever see it, and I would continue my academic career without a hitch.

So I relied on what I knew. Fresh out of my masters program, it seemed natural that Andi would be a rising star in rhetoric and writing studies, and my idealism came shining through. (It wasn’t until I was well into the novel that I saw the happy accident of this decision.)

Andi Cutrone resembled me in other ways — short, native Long Islander, Italian-American background, Gen-Xer. We liked the same foods and the same music. We both lived in southeastern Massachusetts. I gave her two overprotective brothers who were also musicians. I could relate, being the youngest of five brothers and a sister in a musical family.

Those were the jumping off points between which I could then draw a storyline. But the resemblance pretty much ended there. For all those similarities, there were many differences. I spent way less time in Manhattan than she did, for starters. I get along with my parents. I don’t know any escorts. I’m much less insecure. She’s much more scholarly. I’m a bit more optimistic. She’s a bit more sarcastic.

Truth is, Andi had come to life, and it was a life and voice all her own. Rather than my deciding where she should go and how she should behave, she told me her secrets and why she reacted the way she did. She talked to me a lot. I didn’t always want to go where she took me, but I had no choice but to listen to her. There was a truth to be told, but it was to be told on her terms, not mine.

By the time I started Ordinary World, Andi looked and sounded very little, if nothing, like me. She had lived a life that was nothing like mine. She was married, had an advanced career, and shed many of the insecurities that had plagued her in Faking It.

In short, she had it all. And thus, the next what-if was conceived: What if she lost it all?

I love Ordinary World because it contains much more depth and complexity than Faking It, and that’s not to say that Faking It was shallow and predictable. But Andi is confronted with how she’s going to get through the day rather than how her outfit looks. She’s faced not with trying to keep up appearances, but trying to find even a modicum of normality. Instead of wanting to be loved, she resists love. Whereas Faking It was about Andi coming to terms with who she really was, Ordinary World was about her growing into a new sense of self under extraordinary circumstances.

There were times when I wanted to grab a cup of coffee with Andi and talk teaching. There were times I thought she was way bolder than she gave herself credit for. There were times when I didn’t like her behavior, when I wanted to knock some sense into her. There were times I wanted to hug her close and be her sister. I loved her that much. Still do.

As I said, when I’d first started Faking It, I didn’t believe myself to be a fiction writer. The only thing I promised was that I would write the book I would want to read. I succeeded. By Ordinary World, I knew I was a fiction writer. I still use a lot of what I know, but I’ve learned to surrender to my characters. They’re the real storytellers. I’m just the one getting it on the page.

Win: For a chance to win a copy of Ordinary World, please leave a comment at least 50 words long about a character you want to create or have created. Or write about your favorite character in a book. You have until 11:59pm on February 23, 2010 to qualify for the drawing. The unbiased and robotic Random.org has the honor of picking the winner.