From Mary Anna - Does "initiation" mean the same as "hazing"? Eek.

We're talking about initiation this week at The LadyKillers, and my brain is talking to itself again.  It can't decide which meaning of "initiation" to highlight.

How well I recall my sorority initiation, standing in the hallway in my slip, blindfolded, waiting for someone to slip my arms into the secret robes of sisterhood.  The process took forever, because there were 59 of us to be initiated, and the blindfold made me hyperaware of sounds.  We weren't allowed to speak and it was midnight, so there wasn't much to hear, only rhythmic rapping sounds that didn't fit into my image of the comfortable sorority house where I'd taken my meals for months.  Only when it was my turn did I learn that those sounds were the secret knock, repeated again and again for each initiate  ahead of me in line.  We were queued up in alphabetical order and my name started with an "S," so I'd been listening to that knock for quite some time.  I can't tell you what it is, nor can I tell you what happened when I went through the door, because then I'd have to kill you.  Or, more likely, some sister might have to kill me.  These are secrets one takes to the grave.

So maybe I should talk about initiation in terms of how I start a new book.  (And it's really past time for me to do that.  Ack.)  It's a straightforward process.  I talk about possible plots and settings with my editor, Barbara.  Then I read as much as I can about the setting and its archaeology until a story forms in my head and I start to hear my characters' voices in my ear.  Only then can I initiate something as huge and daunting as a book.  First, I have to get ready.  I have to prepare myself, just as young sorority initiates must don new robes and wait for an invitation to learn a society's secrets.

To my Phi Mu sisters out there--and to everybody else, I wish for a you a future of new beginnings, longstanding secrets, and friendship.

Mary Anna

Comments

[Staci]

Mary Anna, I start my books much the same way, by tossing plot ideas around and creating characters in my head, trying to prep myself for typing something on that blank page. Who knew a blank page could be so scary!

[Margaret Lucke]

What I would love is a secret knock that would usher me through a door where I'd find all the answers to all the plot and character questions I have when I'm about to start writing a new book!

[Ann]

Hi Mary Anna, I agree with Margaret... a secret knock that opened a door with answers would be lovely! I guess that door is the imagination, hmmm? Maybe the secret knock is imbibing the proper amount of coffee and chocolate at the proper time. ;-)

[Mary Anna]

If chocolate is the key to that secret door, then I'm in. Heck, when I realized how many Hershey bars I was likely to eat in a lifetime, I bought Hershey stock and put it in my IRA. But I prefer Coca-Cola to coffee for a caffeine source, Ann. :)