Goodies General Notes and Table of Contents (read this first!)

Chapter Two

This chapter, like the other, contains a whole lot of backstory. Fortunately for you, and me, it also happens to be one of the best chapters I've ever written. In fact, it contains not just one, but TWO of my favorite scenes.

First off, the statistics class. I actually began writing this book during my final sememester at the University of Utah; I'd put off taking one of my Quantitative Intensive requirements until this last semester, so it was time to learn stats. (Because it was my last semester and I couldn't be picky, it was a stats class in the Family & Consumer Science department.)

Anyway, I'd sit there in class, being bored (I actually really like stats, but that didn't stop the class from being dull) and I started to scribble out a scene. The layout of the classroom, including the staircase at the front of the room, is as I described in the book. This was one of those fortunate cases where the first draft of the scene looks pretty similar to the final draft--not much had to be changed.

Incidentally, my editor (a BYU grad) complained that she couldn't picture any classroom similar to the one I'd described at BYU--the book takes place at BYU, not the U of U. I responded that, while she's correct, 99.9% of my readers would never have any idea. Take that, readers! I was playing on your ignorance!

The line about seeing Rebekah at the library, and being annoyed by how everyone was flirting instead of studying, came from an experience I had at BYU. As mentioned, I was a U of U student, but I had to go down to the BYU Lee Library to use their special collections for something. While I was compiling notes at a table on the fifth floor, I was appalled by how many people were giggling and holding hands. My very favorite part of the U of U is that the library is quiet as death. (Students there are too busy smoking pot and having premarital sex to study.) (Zing!)

The second scene I love is Eric's interpretation of the 13th Article of Faith. It also changed very little from its original version.

One paragraph that I struggle with is "‘Lovely’ was a term that I could really imagine. In actuality, it was hard for me to apply 'lovely' to anything in life other than women. If stretched, the word could possibly apply to the loveliness of charity, or, perhaps the loveliness of Adam ondi Ahman. It applied much better, however, to the loveliness of the Relief Society or, to a lesser extent, the loveliness of the Young Women." The point, obviously, is that women are lovely. But when I have my 21 year old male protagonist say "the loveliness of the Relief Society" it brings to mind images of old ladies, not the 21-year-old BYU Relief Societies he's referring to. Or, it does in my mind. So, sorry if it sounds like Eric is robbin' the resthome.

I have a friend named Jody, who I hadn't talked to in probably five years when I wrote this, who came upon the book and emailed me to find out if I was referring to her. Answer: no. In early versions of the scene the girl was named Camilla. I don't remember why I changed it.

There are two scenes in this book that make Eric out to not only be kind of socially awkward but a complete nerd. The big one is Chapter Four, wherein he's a complete nerd's nerd, and I'm embarrassed for him. The first is in this chapter, where he's struggling with his Cowardice, Infatuation, and Social Skills. I think that, early on, the Eric character was intended to be much nerdier than he eventually ended up being. These scenes are just the lingering shadows of that.

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