J.R. Murdock

It doesn’t matter if you’re 8 or if you’re 80, you’ve got something that needs to be cleaned out. Think about it for about 30 seconds. Do you have a dresser drawer with all sort of random things in it? Perhaps a drawer in the kitchen you call your junk drawer. Maybe it’s a box under your bed or a shoe box at the top of your closet. When was the last time you decided to just dump that drawer out on the floor and start going through the contents and seeing what you had in there? Maybe it’s the glove box of your car or even your trunk. How about that dark corner of your garage you’re afraid to enter. Heck, go under your sink and check out what’s been living under there.

Now is your chance to do some digging. Get that drawer and start cleaning (or where ever you’ve chosen). Don’t just clean, DUMP! Don’t leave everything in a huge pile, group things together. Start with piles of stuff you know is junk, what you know you need to keep, and odds and ends you have no idea how they got into that drawer in the first place. Keep sorting the piles. Tools, nuts, bolts, screws, old receipts, envelopes you’ve drawn on, bulbs, fuses, mittens. Keep sorting the piles, but don’t throw anything away just yet.

Let’s start with that trash pile. The one with the broken thumb tack, bent nail, empty card box, mostly used book of matches, and strange round things you’re not sure if they’re rat poop or not. Look at them. See how each is worn, torn, bent, broken. Try to recall how each got that way. Don’t just try to recall, get out a pen from the pen and pencil pile and write down the back of an envelope you haven’t written on yet. Write down what each is and how it got there. If you can’t remember how something got into the drawer or you can’t remember anything about it make something up. This is your chance to use that brain and really remember things that you may have forgotten or you may have tried so hard to forget.

Go ahead and finish going through all the items. Yes, I know this might take a while. It usually does. When you’re done, you’ll have a list of items. If you’re anything like me this list will go on and on and on. You’ll also have descriptions and memories about those items. You’ll have formed a personal relationship with each and every one. You’ll be able to just close your eyes and envision every little scrap of paper, birthday card, broken toothpick, and hunk of dog food.

Now we get to have a little fun. You know where I’m going with this, right? Good. I was hoping you’d tell me.

But seriously. Look over that list of items. Let’s start a simple story. You’ve got a character, perhaps two. You’ve got to give an item from one character to another. Look at that list and figure out what your character will put his/her hand into his/her pocket/purse and pull out. Look again at your list and pick a few things at random. Make sure you’ve picked out a couple of items that will actually fit in your pocket/purse. It doesn’t matter if they make sense. How many times have you asked someone for something and they pull something out of their purse and your just look in amazement thinking “What have they got that in there for?” Probably happens more often than you recall.

You’ve taken the time to clean out that drawer. You’ve got a good list of random items, objects, papers, and trash. Your descriptions are probably far different than mine and that’s the joy of this. Even if you’ve got common items in your list, they’re likely not the same as everyone else’s. If you’ve ever held a screwdriver, you know there are a many different kinds just like there are many different kinds or screws, bolts, nuts, gum. You can use this treasure trove of details, descriptions, odds and ends to add a little flavor to a story. You can go all Macgyver and put them together to solve a puzzle, riddle, escape from jail, defuse a bomb.

Don’t be afraid to put in too much description of an everyday item. It’s far easier to take out words after you’re done writing than it is to go back and think, just what was written on that card? What color were those push pins, or were they thumb tacks? What else might have been there that would have been even more interesting to use instead of the broken pocket knife? Go ahead, add a little detail. Add a little spice. Put in something that you wouldn’t normally think about and see what happens.

Until Tomorrow!

WOO WOO!

The other day I had to go to the bank. As is usual with banks near the end of the working day, there was quite a line. It was going to be a while. Being the type of person that I am, I made a comment about long lines on Fridays. The gentleman behind me laughed. I forget what I actually said.

I turned around and introduced myself. I will leave his name out. I didn’t inquire as to his banking business, but I asked him how his day was going. He smiled, revealing a front tooth outlined in gold with a diamond in the middle. His accent distinctly Jamaican. Under his hat his braided hair ran out and down to his shoulders.

He said he was in a bit of a hurry. His daughter had a lesson to get to. I inquired what she had to get to, confused as to why he’d be wearing his sunglasses inside. It made it difficult to talk to him because I was seeing my own reflection. He didn’t seem to mind and smiled a lot as we talked.

His daughter runs track and is currently training with a gold medalist. I found this quite impressive. It’s not every day you end up talking about the Olympics.

I told him about my favorite daughter. He asked the usual question “You have only one?” I wanted to say “There can be only one!” but said just the one. He still got a laugh out of it. We talked about our kids until it was my turn. I shook his hand. Talking to him and looking at my reflection in his sunglasses I hadn’t realized how big his arms were. I thought he was going to crush my hand, but he apparently knew his own strength and kept from giving me the kung fu grip of death.

Meeting people will fill you life with something. A large number of characters to draw upon. I’ve said this before, you can only write what you know. Now I’m not recommending you go out to the back streets and find some thug to talk to if you’re writing about street crime. What I am saying is don’t be afraid to say hello to someone. You’d be amazed at the number of reactions you’ll get just introducing yourself.

For example at the poker game I thought I recognized someone. I smiled. I shook his hand. I said how great it was to see him. Then realized I had no idea who the person was. He smiled. Offered to buy me a beer. I declined and wished him well. Perhaps he thought I was someone he knew and didn’t want to offend me by admitting he didn’t recognize me.

Perhaps.

But again, this reaction sparks little ideas in my head. I can use these reactions with a character to make him seem more real. Rather than just give some blank or sterile description of a person, I can insert an actual reaction a person had. This will bring a character to life in the situation. I can include how he cocked his head to the side and scrunched up his forehead trying to figure out who I was. The way he shook my hand a little too long as if physical contact might help him with recognition. The way his friends stood next to him and also looked at me like “Who is this guy?” I’m sure they all asked and wondered.

What I’m trying to say here is if you’re a writer you need to meet and talk to people. All sorts of people in all sorts of situations. You cannot be afraid of how someone will react. Not everyone will react favorable.

One time I was at McDonald’s or a taco shop or something. I was still trying to make up my mind. I turned around and there was a lady behind me with her daughter (or son, my memory is foggy). She didn’t look like she had a lot of money. I offered for her to go ahead of me and I asked her what she thought might be good. She didn’t answer. She looked at the floor and pulled her child in closer to her. I turned back to the menu figuring the conversation was a dead end and when I turned again to allow the lady to go ahead of me, her and the child were gone.

Color me confused.

As a writer you need to be able to store these events away and put them in your head and collect them. People are all very different and if you can pick out a little quirk during a conversation and drop that into your WIP you’ll have someone say “Hey, I know someone like that” or even “That’s happened to me too”

Don’t be afraid. Get out there and say “Hello”. Be safe, be careful, but don’t worry if someone reacts badly. It’s bound to happen. Maybe someday we’ll run into each other.

Until Next Time!

WOO WOO!