WALK IN THEIR SHOES

When you write, you take a risk. You're submitting to your dream of being read (and applauded, of course) for the story that enfolds. The story people who tell your tale are very important. They have to be made to seem real. How do you do that?

I keep an idea book--several, in fact. They may be different sizes--one for my purse, a slightly larger one on my bedside table, and several spiral notebooks scattered about the house. If I imagine a character, or some special trait I'd like to use, I take notes. When out in the world, I may see someone, hear a voice, eavesdrop on a conversation--any of these can be part of a character sketch. But these notes are cardboard characters, only stick figures. They need emotion. Where does that come from?

I try to put myself in the character's shoes. You've read news stories about missing or murdered children, found family members, or the miraculous recovery of the maimed or dying, for example. Can you imagine the heartbreak of the parents or families, or the joy when found safe and sound, or recovering from imminent death? How can people go through such an ordeal? Where do they find the courage to go on? Try to put all of these cries and joys into words.

Is your couple battling big differences in their relationship? Try to remember what it was like while dating or the early years of marriage. The road is never entirely smooth. Your experiences will color your words, your scenes, your characters reactions. You made it and your characters will too. Walk with them through their trials.

One of my short stories is about the first Christmas a woman faces after the death of her only son in Iraq. Though she has a younger daughter who needs her and a husband who loves her, she can't seem to accept the realities of her life now, and she certainly cannot see any reason to celebrate the season.

In her line of vision from the kitchen window is a grove of fir trees, the annual Christmas trees planted by her son. The mother has to physically restrain herself from having each tree removed for someone's firewood. It is only when she has a confrontation with her daughter, that she is drawn into the grove. It is there that the birds and the trees, and her son, come to her, as they speak to her heart.

I worked hard on that story. But it wasn't until I became that mother, listened to her inner thoughts, and felt the tears of loss on my face, that I could create the true emotion of the story.

When you write, try to walk in your character's shoes.