Write Lightning is a blog from writer Deb Thompson.
Everyone is welcome here.
(Some links or topics may not be completely kid-appropriate.)
Everyone is welcome here.
(Some links or topics may not be completely kid-appropriate.)
Wed, Sep 23 2009
Neighbors as character idea generators
We have great neighbors in our area, but it seems that every neighborhood has its characters. We had a man on a nearby street we had dubbed as "loud guy" because of his projecting voice and his habit of shouting and venting when he is working outdoors. A few months ago we acquired what my spouse calls "loud guy 2.0". He is younger than loud guy, but has an even more unpredictable on-and-off switch, often triggered while he is talking on a cell phone.
These two males are by no means the most colorful of the lot we've lived near during our married life. We've seen a female trash hoarder who drove an expensive sports car, a young immigrant who read poetry and thought the smoke alarm would electrocute him and a grandfather whose relatives shot through a window screen and left our area to go pan for gold. I'm sure that everyone reading this has encountered a few colorful neighbors of your own. The nice thing about being a writer is that each of these people has potential to spark one of more characters in a story. Even when they turn out to be annoying as a real person, catalog them in your mind. They'll serve you well some day.
posted at: 19:45 | category: /Writing Life | link to this entry
We have great neighbors in our area, but it seems that every neighborhood has its characters. We had a man on a nearby street we had dubbed as "loud guy" because of his projecting voice and his habit of shouting and venting when he is working outdoors. A few months ago we acquired what my spouse calls "loud guy 2.0". He is younger than loud guy, but has an even more unpredictable on-and-off switch, often triggered while he is talking on a cell phone.
These two males are by no means the most colorful of the lot we've lived near during our married life. We've seen a female trash hoarder who drove an expensive sports car, a young immigrant who read poetry and thought the smoke alarm would electrocute him and a grandfather whose relatives shot through a window screen and left our area to go pan for gold. I'm sure that everyone reading this has encountered a few colorful neighbors of your own. The nice thing about being a writer is that each of these people has potential to spark one of more characters in a story. Even when they turn out to be annoying as a real person, catalog them in your mind. They'll serve you well some day.
posted at: 19:45 | category: /Writing Life | link to this entry
