Posts Tagged ‘Characters’
Characters on Road Trips
At 12:30 a.m. the night before Cathy and I were to board a plane to Kennedy airport and then on to Burlington, Vermont, I happened to check my phone where I learned the flight from Kennedy to Burlington had been cancelled, and, when Cathy called Delta, she learned that there were no other flights the…
Read MoreThe Case of the Missing Shirt: Some Tips for Writing Narratives
“You put it in the suitcase, didn’t you?” my wife Cathy says. “Oh, no. Don’t tell me,” I say. “You have got to be kidding.” (I rarely begin a narrative with dialogue, but in this case it seems called for, given the urgency of the situation). The “it” in question is my favorite shirt. It’s…
Read MoreThe Pause before the End: Our Characters’ Interior Lives
When I walked into my office this morning, I found Stella the Cat lying in a patch of sunlight. She loves the sun, and she likes to roll over on her back to invite a tummy rub. Each time I pet her warm fur, a great feeling of calm comes over me. Everything in my…
Read MoreBrutal Necessity: Applying Pressure to Our Characters
This is the time of year when carpenter bees make their appearance as they hunt for wood on houses to drill into. Last year, Cathy and I purchased a trap which is essentially a block of wood with an entry through a couple of holes that provide no exit. The bees have no choice but…
Read MoreOptions for Our Characters
This weekend, my birthday rolled around. Cathy got me this sit-to-stand desk, so I can work standing up if I choose, or I can lower the desk and sit down. I very much appreciate this gift because it should help with my recurring sciatic nerve pain that I often aggravate with long periods of staying…
Read MoreBlack Friday: What If?
Cathy and I were in Home Depot on Black Friday, looking at items for our front porch Christmas display, when an elderly woman with an empty shopping cart said to me, “I used to play Santa Claus.” It was a dreary night, cold and damp, but there in Home Depot surrounded by the artificial trees…
Read MoreComing Clean: Characters and Their Confessions
Cathy and I went to The Ohio Theatre last night to watch The Music Man, part of the summer film series. The movie is set in 1912 in River City, Iowa, where a con man, Professor Harold Hill, convinces the townsfolk that the appearance of a pool table in the billiard hall is a grave…
Read More