Every outing, every day is an opportunity to gather precious content. Whether you know it or not, I’m watching, listening, and doing my damndest to glean the perfect pockets of conversations, experiences, and visuals to someday create a character or storyline that is my fiction grounded in your truth.
Describing everyday scenes and bringing ordinary conversations to life on the page is a thrill, believe me. Some people will never understand, but for a writer, seeing something so clearly in your head and being able to transfer it to a memorable moment in a book is a rush as powerful as any other addiction.
I usually latch onto specific words or sayings that seem unique or that tell the perfect story. I file away interesting names and physical characteristics. I listen to people’s stories and conversations and innocently use what I need to build a character, relationship, or storyline.
I create fiction but that ‘made up’ story needs to be believable—at least somewhat. Building all the intricate elements of a complex character starting from a little truth, makes even their most outlandish conflicts believable. Believe in the character and their actions go unquestioned. Creating believable characters means I listen in, I ask a few questions, I require an explanation, or I just watch you from afar. It’s not creepy or weird. It’s researching content, and that aspect of my character will never stands down.