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Writing an Entry For Guess That Character Blogfest

As I said in yesterday’s fest, I’m going to participate in a few Blogfests, and the first one is here!
It is the Guess that Character Blogfest run by Jennifer Dalker.

The Blogfest, in her own words:

“Post a snippet of the character you’d like to be identified. Try and make sure there are no descriptions of what they might look like. This blog fest is based purely on voice, action and personality.”

So here is my entry, and in the comments I invite other bloggers to describe the appearance of my character, because tomorrow I’ll post a picture of the character and we can all see who comes the closest…
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Once you skin a cat, you realise it is skinner than a mouse really. Mom says it is bad to hurt any living thing, even worse to kill, but skinning a dead cat can’t be that bad, can it?

I like how the pelt comes off when I know when to stick Churi in the right place, just below the layer of fat, so the skin isn’t very dry. Those are the kind of things I’d like to learn, how to make sure the skin does not lose hair, how many times, how hard and where to hit so you can preserve the skin, no cuts.

But Mom says good boys learn different things: calculus, trigonometry, history of literature—those are the right choices. Then there’s biology and this year we begin dissection. I’m kind of looking forward to that. Besides, it would be fun to watch the girls faint and the boys throw up. They do that each year, I’m told.

Can’t understand why most people get so grossed out by death. After all, we’re all going to die some day. And underneath our skins, we’re all the same, grease, blood, bones, entrails. It disgusts me how proud some girls are of their packaging, making like they don’t have as much blood and gore and shit and fart inside them as the next person. All that brushing and combing, bathing and polishing and scenting, for what? Just to cover up your stuffing. If I ever got to skin one of them bitches, it would all pour out of them, all the messy gore and dirt. That would show them.

But their skins, ah, the skins can be a thing of beauty—their lines fanning out as they dry under the sun. Very soon they would be parchments, no smell, soft between my fingers. Maybe I could write on them. Now that would give tattoos a whole new meaning, wouldn’t it?
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For detailed info on the Blogfest go to Guess that Character Blogfest.

Feedback on how to better capture the voice of the character, or on any other aspect, most welcome.

Folks who are taking part in this fest, please feel free to leave a link to your entry if you choose to comment!
Damyanti Biswas

Damyanti Biswas is the author of You Beneath Your Skin and numerous short stories that have been published in magazines and anthologies in the US, the UK, and Asia. She has been shortlisted for Best Small Fictions and Bath Novel Awards and is co-editor of the Forge Literary Magazine. Her literary crime thriller series, the Blue Mumbai, is represented by Lucienne Diver from The Knight Agency. Both The Blue Bar and The Blue Monsoon were published in 2023.

I appreciate comments, and I always visit back. If you're having trouble commenting, let me know via the contact form, or tweet me up @damyantig !

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