side note to begin this post:
yesterday, i received the book cover comps from my publisher,
who had received them from jamie keenan.
come back on thursday, and you can see the book cover yourself.
trust me. you're in for a treat.
Stories are everywhere.
This realization is part of what it means to see the world as a writer.
I have started this year reading every Vonnegut novel in chronological order (9 of these novels are rereads; 5 are new reads; all of them are fantastic, and reading them chronologically gives me a great idea of the man's development and progression as a writer - and all of that is another side note). In Vonnegut's last book (the nonfiction A Man Without A Country), he talks about how people do not interact with people anymore. You don't go to the post office to send a letter - you send an email. You don't talk to the person at the checkout counter when you pick up groceries - you go through the self-checkout. We don't talk to strangers anymore (well...my little brother Matthew does - by the way, I've said for months that I need to write a post about Matthew; maybe I'll do that sometime soon; this is yet another unrelated note). We no longer interact with the world.
This is a shame. Stories are everywhere, and the more you realize this, the more you will interact with people and pick up their stories. I don't do a great job of this, but I try. It's easier when I'm with Matthew, but I make an effort to do it on my own all the same.
The guy at the library with the computer two sizes too small for him has a story.
The lady sitting alone outside the coffee shop with a cigarette and a book has a story.
The fifty-year-old guy with the bleached blond hair and the fake tan has a story.
I have a story.
You have a story.
Stories are all around us. And as each of us on here (or...I should say, as many of us on here) are trying to tell stories that people will want to read, it is important that we realize this. The best stories contain characters who are as real as life. And the best way to sculpt characters who are as real as life is to spend time around real life people, getting to know their stories.
Other Places Where I Hang Out:
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(Download A Delicious Sample Of The Great Lenore,
Available For Pre-Order Tuesday March 1, 2011)
Play nice and share with others
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Well said, my friend. This is very true - and exactly why I choose to write in coffee shops. I need to be around people; I could very easily spend days at a time in my house without ever leaving. I don't allow myself to do this because people need to get out and interact with life. As you said, the ADHD kid who forgot to take his meds and is ordering a blended coffee drink loaded with sugar has a story. The sad woman wiping the tears under her eyes while sipping her non-fat latte from a mug has a story. And I don't know what either of those stories are, but I filled in the blanks and they have been incorporated in my W.I.P. I like roaming the store when I'm 'stuck.' I take note of what people are wearing and listen to the dialogue they use. Teen culture changes every ten seconds, so writing relevant YA requires ongoing observation. Stories ARE everywhere.
ReplyDeleteBtw, I did not know you had a little brother. So there are three of you?
And, as I read in an earlier post this weekend, I did not know you were from Boston. You will have no idea what I mean by this, but I should have known!!
This is a great observation. The lack of interaction between people really worries me. No. It scares me. If people don't interact, they don't play nice. And when they don't play nice, then I write about them.
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