Lunch today was supposed to be tossed garden salad with pecans, white cheddar and raspberry viniagrette dressing, but I'm just not feeling all that. Instead, I am eating a freezer-burned pizza pocket, soggy on one side, and warm Crystal Lite. It's a little bit gross. I am happy. No, I have no idea what is the matter with me. I am not a person who always makes sense.
And this has me thinking about characters, and motivation. And the Laura Secord Toffee Crunch chocolate bar in my purse.
One of the things that distinguishes decent writing from really good writing, for me, is this simple thing. The ways that humanity is revealed in a character, by the simple admission that people don't always make sense. The book that most comes to mind here is the Poisonwood Bible. It's full of people I adored, and I just wanted to shake some of them. I felt so much, because I could see what they could not: their mistakes, misconceptions, flaws, blind spots.
This is a skill I would very much like to master.
But first, chocolate!
3 comments:
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm... chocolate
You wanna master writing about a person's short comings? Interview me. I'm fairly certain a book could be filled with my mistakes, misconceptions, flaws and blind spots :)
Dani:
Always the one to make (me) smile,
still the snake in the woodpile?
You are the very best of flawed, my friend. And the very best at insults, too.
What's a Gru Grux, anyway?
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