So many people, so many stories
I love riding the train and going into the city. There is the usual thrill of the hustle and bustle, as well as whatever event I am there for, but more than that, I love to watch all the people. You see them walking by on the sidewalks, going into stores, riding in cabs...And every single one of them is their own story. I can't help but wonder what they are doing, where they are going. Are they enjoying themselves, or are the irritated? What problems are they facing? What excites them, what makes them laugh?It is even more fun on the train, especially at night, when you pass buildings with lights on. You catch glimpses of lives through open windows, a tv flickering, a vase of flowers, a messy desk. Never more than a glimpse as you fly by, but enough to understand that a person live there. And you will never know who they are, what they are thinking, what their live is really like. All you can do is wonder.
Think about it. You pass probably hundreds, if not more, people in the car every day. Have you ever looked over and wondered what that person was thinking? What did they have for breakfast that morning? Are they a morning person, or did they roll out of bed grudgingly? Who are they talking to on the cell phone? When that man waves his arms around while talking to the passenger, is he just like that normally, or is he really agitated over something?
I think that is one of the reasons I love to write. I can't meet every single person on Earth and hear their story, but I can try to imagine them. Character more than anything else is what I love to both read about and to write. Plot is important only so far as it is necessary to let the character grow and develop. And anyone who has read my work will note that I generally don't do a lot of "scene setting" as that is very secondary to me. I give you enough that you have some context for what is going on, but then I rush back to the character, to learn what drives them, how they are reacting to the situation.
The world is a beautiful, ugly, peaceful, chaotic place, and it spawns every concieveable type of person and situation. How can you not wonder how about it?
posted by Toni @ 11:27 AM
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