"How much of human life is lost in waiting?"
That is a quote from the fourth (and absolutely unnecessary) Indiana Jones movie. And it's so applicable.
Everything in life comes down to choices. Same in our writing.
I grew up in Utah. That's no secret. From 4th grade through graduation with my master's degree I lived and breathed Utah. I was comfortable there.
I had it in my head that I was one person. I was the person who could go to a function and feel alone inside that room teeming with people. I had my place where I belonged and I thought I was okay with that.
Then I moved to another state. And for the last seven months, I've been making choices. Many were choices to be that person I thought I was.
Then I made a choice. I decided I was tired of going places and only socializing with those people who knew me as this person.
I've made that choice in subtle ways over the last few months. Grudgingly, at times, but I've made it.
And you know what? I like the person I've decided to be. And this subtle choice has led to wonderful opportunities in my life, both opportunities that have been fulfilled and opportunities looming on the horizon.
At what point will your characters decide they're not the person they think they are on page 1? Because that's the moment that their arc and their story come to life. That's the moment that your readers turn those pages as fast as they can because they want desperately to see that character reach all that potential and get all those opportunities that this decision brings.
I for one can't wait for tomorrow (figuratively) to see what the new me accomplishes.
What a beautiful post, Steph. I, too, went through my life pretty much trying to be someone else. Or at least someTHING else. It hasn't been until the last couple years that I've begun to be free to discover my true self and to allow others to see the real me, too. You are way ahead of the curve I set!
ReplyDeleteThis is so true. It's the things we choose to change that make the biggest difference.
ReplyDeleteI would like to read your blog but I can't make sense of your font. I don't know if it's a problem for other readers but I thought you might like to know. I will see if I can figure out a setting to change it on my computer. Do you know of any such setting?
ReplyDeleteThis is so true. You can only be happy when you're true to the person you should be. And I love how you related this to characters! You can really bring a character to life by showing this in your writing.
ReplyDeleteGreat inspiring post. About how to live as well as create characters.
ReplyDeleteWell said. So true about ourselves and the characters we create. I'm definitely a different person now than I was--and that's a good thing too. :)
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your inspiring post. We all have to make choices, sometimes they turn out to be the wrong ones as I discovered recently at http://novelistinthemaking.blogspot.com.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to reading more of your blog in future and following your progress.