First Letter to My Main Character

Even though I won't begin writing The Moravec Threshold until November 1st, I thought it would be a good idea to get to know some of the principle character a little better before then. Taking the advice of some other writers, I decided to write letter to a few of them and hopefully hear back from them about what our project next month. Below is my first letter to Lucy Kendall - the MC of the novel.

Dear Lucy

I know we haven’t spent much time together, but I’m really looking forward to getting to know you better in November.

You seem like a really interesting woman. You’re smart, you enjoy being outdoors running and biking, and you still love the Red Sox! But it seems like these days you’re spending way too much time in the lab. I know you’re learning a lot and grad school is demanding, but you really need to learn to have some fun!

Let’s face it, you’ve been a nerd your whole life. You’ve been fascinated by animals and plants since you were a little girl catching fireflies and looking at leaves through a magnifying glass. You hardly ever dated in high school (even though you were really cute) and you always had your nose in some book. Then you graduated near the top of your class in Biology at Boston University and now you’re in graduate school studying Genetics at UNC-Chapel Hill. When are you going to start enjoying life instead of just studying it all the time?

By the way, congratulations – I understand you just published your first scientific paper as first author. You’ve obviously got a bright future ahead of you. I guess it must have helped having a genius father to help you learn to follow your passions.

Speaking of your parents, how’s your Mom? It must be tough being away from home while her Alzheimer’s is getting worse. At least your Dad is spending most of his time in Cambridge now so he can be home with her. It seems like you haven’t talked to him much lately; is everything okay? Maybe he’s just really busy…

November is going to be a really busy month for both of us. I’ll be spending more time with you, your friend Jack, and a few other people (that you’ll be getting to know soon) than I’ll be spending with my students or my own family - but it’s going to be worth it. We have a lot to learn from each other about what’s really important in life and in the end we’ll both be better people for it. That is, if we survive. I almost hate the thought of all the things that are going to happen to you in the next few weeks…

Well, I’ll talk to you again soon. Drop me a note if you get the chance!
Bill