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Sparks

Karen Grunberg

Story Time

On the last day of the old year and the first days of the new one, we have been experiencing exceptionally warm weather in New York. The same is true of Japan, so I thought it might be a good idea to take one last trip to the park, before the rainy days start taking over.

If you don't live near a park, this exercise can be done anywhere. Any location that is full of people is ideal. If you get cold easily, you can go to a mall and sit at the food court, hang out at a diner, or even a coffee shop. Just try to find a location where people sit for an extended period of time.

Let's assume you thought of a spot. Now, pack up your pad and pencil, we're taking a field trip. Once you get to the location of your preference, sit down and take out your pad. Look around for a while. You're searching for the hero or villain of your next story, so look carefully.

Once someone catches your eye, start making notes on that person. Start out with the easy, physical details. Let's say I picked a middle-aged woman. Here are some starter-questions:

• What color is her hair?
• How tall does she appear?
• Can you see the eye color?
• Does she have long, slender features or short, chubby ones?
• What is she wearing?
• What is the color of her skin?
• Does she wear glasses?
• Is she wearing a watch?
• Can you see her teeth? (Okay, probably not!)
• Is she wearing nail polish?
• Does she have short or long hair?
• How old does she appear?

You get the idea. Get the basics down on paper. Make up the details you can't see. Can't see her teeth? Give her crooked ones, or perfect ones, or give her braces. You can't see the eye color? Give her blue eyes, or give her one green eye and one blue one. (I actually know someone that has one blue eye and one green one!)

Now that you have the obvious, let's move on to the less visible. Look at your chosen one more carefully. Are there things you didn't notice the first time around?
Here are some more probing questions:

• Is she wearing any jewelry?
• Does she have beauty marks?
• Any tics?
• Does she look nervous?
• Are there pouches under her eyes?
• Can you see lines on her face?
• Any gray hair?
• Does she have make-up on? If so, does it look fresh?

The questions are meant to make you look more closely. Now let your imagination flow, or make it go crazy! Pick one distinctive feature and start speculating.

I'll pick the jewelry. My lady is wearing a ring. It's wide and has three small, square, blue stones. Now I get to spend the next ten minutes writing about the ring. I start with questions.

• When did she get that ring?
• Who gave it to her?
• Is it new or is it an antique?
• Does she wear it all the time?
• Even when she goes to sleep or in the shower?
• Is it a wedding ring?
• Do the blue stones mean anything?
• Is it valuable or does it have sentimental value?

Once I've written enough questions for an idea to form in my mind, I let my creative side do the answering. Here's the story of my lady's ring.

The ring is an antique. Passed from generation to generation and at least 100 years old. It belonged to her husband's mother. Actually, Greg's grandmother, and she passed it down to his mother. Greg's mother died when he was seven. She had cancer, and before she died, she gave Greg this ring, reminding him that it was a family heirloom and he should give it to the woman he will marry. She told him that for as long as he had this ring, he'd know she was watching over him. Greg gave the ring to Janet (the woman I'm looking at) when he proposed to her. He had to go to war before they got married, but he gave her the ring and told her to wait for him and that he'd be back to marry her. Janet waited patiently, and when Greg came back, they got married. Greg told her the story of the ring and asked her to never take it off. She kept her promise and never takes it off, not even when she showers. Today she's playing with the ring nervously because she has to give Greg some bad news. Janet is in love with someone else and is going to have this man's baby. In about five minutes, Greg's going to walk in and Janet has to tell him the truth.

Well, not the most unique story, but I wrote the first things that came to my mind. And for the next two hours, you will pick different things about your person of choice and write short paragraphs about him or her. You can choose to write the story of a watch or the cause of a gray hair. Anything is fair game.

By the end of the two hours, you should have enough information about this lady to make up the beginnings of a backstory. Now, you can pack your stuff up and go back home.

Once you reach home, sit down by your computer or at your desk, and type all you can about this woman. Make up a backstory. Make up her fears; list things that make her sad. Carve her a family; give her imperfections. Let her tell her tale.

If you gave this exercise a fair shot, not only will you have an interesting character, but you'll have the beginning of a story, dying to emerge.

As always, it's only worth doing if it's fun, fun, fun!

Karenika

P.S.: If you have any sparkling ideas, please email them to me at karenika@wvu.org so we can share your ideas with our other members.