A character with consistency, that appreciates routine and understands the beauty of a small gesture. While I have written many coffee drinkers into my stories throughout the years, there is one who has been there from the beginning. By beginning I do not mean book one, but book 5 or 6 when coffee became a part of my morning agenda. Sure, this character description could easily describe our transformation from high calorie, absurdly expensive beverages to our love of an in-house mug filled to the brim with the freshest brew. The only element worth highlighting in that tale is the idea of accepting change and changing together. (Okay, not the ONLY thing worth highlighting. I'm fairly certain we were late to school 75% of our senior year of high school because of our addiction and my inability to wake up on time).
For a character that appreciates routine in his daily life, he has managed to be the most willing to tell me that change is in fact, inevitable. For a coffee drinker, change is sometimes as small (yet traumatic) as your favorite barista leaving and no longer having your drink started the moment he or she sees your car pull up. On the other hand, the coffee drinker was the first to encourage life's big changes and constantly reminded me that it would all work out. Somehow. He never allowed me more than a few minutes of doubt and sorrow. He never made empty promises or fully catered to my wildly neurotic way of seeing life. He fueled my optimism and made sure my glass (literally and figuratively) was always at least half full.
The coffee drinker inspires life's little pleasures. Our adventures of exploring new places and brews was once a seemingly small part of my life but has somehow become a time that I revisit on a regular basis. The coffee drinker made this adventure more than crossing something off of my checklist every Sunday afternoon. Through life chats, incredibly embarrassing moments, tears, laughter that took our breath away, and even silence that spoke volumes... I have never found such comfort in being a regular in someone's life. The coffee drinkers might be the easiest characters to love. They are complex, yet make living in this world seem as simple as a cup of coffee.
That brings us to this story, book number eight, which I see as the peak of my 20Something Tale. I no longer have the same consistency with the coffee drinker. At times I feel as though my favorite barista has left me, and while I am still given my caffeine injection of laughter and comfort... it is not the same. The routine has changed for both of us. We continue to encourage each other to find comfort in new opportunities but there is now an existing distance. Our adventures have changed and we have grabbed the hands of others to bring them along on the type of journey that a coffee drinker thrives on. To find pleasure in "the little things" alone would be wasteful. The coffee drinkers alter their routines if it means more happiness and a greater appreciation for life. These characters have a tight grip on loyalty and honesty and trust their hearts. While always striving for more, the coffee drinker is still able to sit back, relax, and drink their coffee while its still hot.
This character is irreplaceable.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Saturday, June 23, 2012
"The Writers"
I could easily break up this character description but I feel as though these characters all have similar qualities with unique sparks that send me into the best kind of tizzy. The writers in my stories process life and all of its uncertainty and confusion in a way that always seems to tug at my heartstrings. They make me feel normal... or as closer to normal as I can possibly feel. The writers want to talk about life and love in the most intellectually stimulating ways so that afterward, in the comfort of our own homes and minds, we can put the pen to paper. My favorite part about these characters is that each of them sees the beauty of words in such a different way. Some, like me, have created journal after journal of detailed happenings of events with emotional dialogue intertwined. Others are musicians and translate their innermost understandings (and misunderstandings) into lyrics that become beautiful melodies flowing with chords that put the heart at ease. The poets put life into even fewer words and showcase the beauty of language as an intimate art form.
The special thing about the writers is that we get each other. There is a unique understanding that comes with having a passion for writing that seems to bond people together. One particular writer challenges me more than any others. He gently forces me to see the world from different perspectives and consider new possibilities but respects the perspective I cling to. I was skeptical of this character at first but he has quickly been written into my story with kindness and respect. Entangled in his wisdom and desire to challenge is an inner world that resonates with mine. A world in which life's complications are merely that. Complications. We share a sense of optimism and hope that the hardships shall pass and the harsh realities that were put to paper will one day be merely a memory. Another character, a musician with the voice of a songbird that can soothe even the fastest beating heart, sparks my creative side. She has a way about her that brings an extra bit of life into everything she does. Even with 500 miles now between us and conversations that last for only a few texts, we get each other. She writes about love in a way that feels genuine, not just another fairytale love story. She writes about life as if it could not possibly be more perfectly constructed despite the presence of negativity. Sometimes she lets her lyrics follow the music, unaware of what is to come next. Her character feels emotion in so many ways that even I cannot understand.
They (we) write to understand. They (we) write to make sense of others as well as ourselves and to have the feeling that even for a moment, life makes sense.
I have writers that have come and gone but all have taught me what it means to live with a little more life. More spark. They ask questions and listen to answers, prompting to hear more while adding their own valuable perspective.
Who would we be if not for the writers that document the ways in which our worlds collide?
The special thing about the writers is that we get each other. There is a unique understanding that comes with having a passion for writing that seems to bond people together. One particular writer challenges me more than any others. He gently forces me to see the world from different perspectives and consider new possibilities but respects the perspective I cling to. I was skeptical of this character at first but he has quickly been written into my story with kindness and respect. Entangled in his wisdom and desire to challenge is an inner world that resonates with mine. A world in which life's complications are merely that. Complications. We share a sense of optimism and hope that the hardships shall pass and the harsh realities that were put to paper will one day be merely a memory. Another character, a musician with the voice of a songbird that can soothe even the fastest beating heart, sparks my creative side. She has a way about her that brings an extra bit of life into everything she does. Even with 500 miles now between us and conversations that last for only a few texts, we get each other. She writes about love in a way that feels genuine, not just another fairytale love story. She writes about life as if it could not possibly be more perfectly constructed despite the presence of negativity. Sometimes she lets her lyrics follow the music, unaware of what is to come next. Her character feels emotion in so many ways that even I cannot understand.
They (we) write to understand. They (we) write to make sense of others as well as ourselves and to have the feeling that even for a moment, life makes sense.
I have writers that have come and gone but all have taught me what it means to live with a little more life. More spark. They ask questions and listen to answers, prompting to hear more while adding their own valuable perspective.
Who would we be if not for the writers that document the ways in which our worlds collide?
Friday, June 22, 2012
The 20something's Tale
A friend has recently brought it to my attention that I refer to people in my life (family, friends, friends of friends or strangers) as "life characters" with great frequency. While I would love to attribute this to the amount of pleasure reading I have been able to do this summer, I am not sure that is actually the case. Honestly, I cannot recall a moment in which I did not feel I was writing my own epic stories with the people I see, hear, or think about on a daily basis. Yes, stories of epic proportion. Stories with multiple authors, characters who have survived from book one to book...let's call it eight, and characters who have merely made appearances but have been written out for both simplistic and wild reasons.
This story I seem to be writing right now, book number eight, is seeming to have some of the most complex and fascinating characters I have had the pleasure of writing in. I like to think of this as "The 20something's Tale" because the title "A World of Laughter, Discovery, Heartbreak, Confusion, Success, Defeat, Stress, Independence and Happiness" was FAR too simple. The life characters that help me understand who I am as a leading lady in my own story can always be described so intricately in my mind. I often feel as though my character list is one of a kind, that no other 20something Tale could possibly find a way to intertwine the wonderfully encouraging yet confusing characters I am able to write about and live among.
Why am I sharing this? A loaded question, really. In all honesty I would love to challenge myself to put into words some of the life characters I am blessed to know deeply, casually, and pass by on a whim. From the fairytale childhood best friend to the man at the coffee shop with a curiosity regarding my time spent writing papers, everyone has changed me. Everyone has challenged me, encouraged me, infuriated me or comforted me...whether the knew it or not. As a character with an uncomfortably intricate core, I constantly analyze the characters in my story and try to figure out the how or the why. Maybe, just maybe, the written word can offer a bit more insight.
So where does that leave me? Honestly, with three paragraphs of explanation that could probably be translated into 4-6 simple sentences. This 20something Tale will highlight some of my life characters. Some big, some seemingly insignificant. Are there really insignificant characters? I am not entirely convinced that there are. I could easily begin by describing myself as a character but what is the fun in that? If you flip through the story this way, I believe you will discover more about me than if I attempted to untangle the life of an extremely introverted idealist who learned to the part of an extrovert all too well. That would be an exhausting character description to write.
We can start small.
"The Starbucks Lovers"
A couple that I watched on multiple occasions during a two week span. Each day as I curled up in my favorite leather chair for a morning of research, writing, and Facebooking I saw these two at the table across from me enjoying what appeared to me as the best morning anyone could endure. Perched in the same positions each time, they shared a newspaper and a breakfast pasty while sipping mugs of black coffee. While one flipped through the business and sports sections, the other explored entertainment and comics. I never saw them exchange words, just glances here and there that screamed love and passion ever so silently. I wanted to be them. I wanted to have what they seemed to have and to love the way they seemed to love. A love so simple yet full of complexity, history, and inevitably hardship.
I never spoke to either of them but caught myself smiling and feeling as though the future did not have to look so terrifyingly complicated all the time. I smiled because though they had no idea of my existence, I knew of theirs and it had opened a realm of new possibilities. As characters in my story they seem to only have their own chapter but the essence of who they are will be woven into any other tale involving simplicity, love, or the beauty of silence.
Yes, this is actually them.
This story I seem to be writing right now, book number eight, is seeming to have some of the most complex and fascinating characters I have had the pleasure of writing in. I like to think of this as "The 20something's Tale" because the title "A World of Laughter, Discovery, Heartbreak, Confusion, Success, Defeat, Stress, Independence and Happiness" was FAR too simple. The life characters that help me understand who I am as a leading lady in my own story can always be described so intricately in my mind. I often feel as though my character list is one of a kind, that no other 20something Tale could possibly find a way to intertwine the wonderfully encouraging yet confusing characters I am able to write about and live among.
Why am I sharing this? A loaded question, really. In all honesty I would love to challenge myself to put into words some of the life characters I am blessed to know deeply, casually, and pass by on a whim. From the fairytale childhood best friend to the man at the coffee shop with a curiosity regarding my time spent writing papers, everyone has changed me. Everyone has challenged me, encouraged me, infuriated me or comforted me...whether the knew it or not. As a character with an uncomfortably intricate core, I constantly analyze the characters in my story and try to figure out the how or the why. Maybe, just maybe, the written word can offer a bit more insight.
So where does that leave me? Honestly, with three paragraphs of explanation that could probably be translated into 4-6 simple sentences. This 20something Tale will highlight some of my life characters. Some big, some seemingly insignificant. Are there really insignificant characters? I am not entirely convinced that there are. I could easily begin by describing myself as a character but what is the fun in that? If you flip through the story this way, I believe you will discover more about me than if I attempted to untangle the life of an extremely introverted idealist who learned to the part of an extrovert all too well. That would be an exhausting character description to write.
We can start small.
"The Starbucks Lovers"
A couple that I watched on multiple occasions during a two week span. Each day as I curled up in my favorite leather chair for a morning of research, writing, and Facebooking I saw these two at the table across from me enjoying what appeared to me as the best morning anyone could endure. Perched in the same positions each time, they shared a newspaper and a breakfast pasty while sipping mugs of black coffee. While one flipped through the business and sports sections, the other explored entertainment and comics. I never saw them exchange words, just glances here and there that screamed love and passion ever so silently. I wanted to be them. I wanted to have what they seemed to have and to love the way they seemed to love. A love so simple yet full of complexity, history, and inevitably hardship.
I never spoke to either of them but caught myself smiling and feeling as though the future did not have to look so terrifyingly complicated all the time. I smiled because though they had no idea of my existence, I knew of theirs and it had opened a realm of new possibilities. As characters in my story they seem to only have their own chapter but the essence of who they are will be woven into any other tale involving simplicity, love, or the beauty of silence.
Yes, this is actually them.
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