Stopping Off For A Blog

I’ve been writing quite a bit lately, but not for my blog as often as I should. I’m writing a new novel. I’ve written about 16,000 words so far and, I’m happy to say, it’s coming together. It’s different from anything else I’ve written. It very quickly has developed into something of a mystery and I’m not quite sure how that happened. Most of my writing occurs away from the computer though and often, it seems, my stories take command of themselves. I’m surprised at times myself as to what happens next!

My characters develop in my mind first and romp around there until I settle them down on paper. Generally I decide the “type” of person I want a character to be – evil, funny, depressed, arrogant, abused – and let their actions and words paint the picture. The way a character looks often is closely aligned to their personality. I enjoy creating descriptions of my characters. Here’s an example:

Melody was a plain, young woman, whose round eyes, round face, and out-of-date, poufy, pageboy haircut reminded Midge of a female version of the Pillsbury doughboy. The only defining features in her unremarkable face were deep dimples that were fixed in her pale cheeks as though they had been stamped in place there. Midge was torn between wanting to hug her or punch her in the belly. And who had named her Melody? The name simply didn’t fit; she was a tense and melancholy figure most days, rolling her head to the side and gazing glumly into the space before her as though searching for answers to questions she quite likely never could have articulated. One could have assumed that a person called Melody might have grown into such a pretty name and worn it like a song, but instead, she was the antithesis of it: moody, sullen, and sad.

None of my fictional characters are real people. However, I do observe people all the time. I look at the way they dress, at their demeanor, and I listen to their conversations, their interactions with others. People make me wonder. “Is he homeless? What is her profession? Why is she so glum? Is she ill, tired, or angry? How many colors can one person’s hair be? Does he know his aqua eyes are mesmerizing? Does she always use such vulgar language?” Those are typical of the questions I ask myself about people I don’t even know. I take the liberty then to create an imaginary persona and file it away for future use. My son, Justin, tells me I’m a nerd because he knows I’m very content sitting in front of my computer filling pages with words. He’s probably correct, but I think most people who know me would be hard-put to believe it. Maybe I need to put myself in a book someday.