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Life of a Writer Mom Column Characters I Have Known by Carla Charter I've discovered almost anywhere I go, my writer's imagination is not far behind. Take the people I meet. Even on day to day errands most people focus on what they need to do. Being a writer my creative antenna are always up. I have a to do list that I focus on as well, but I discover sometimes without even realizing it, I start noticing people around me. Accents, appearances, comments. They all subconsciously grease the pool of characters always bubbling in my brain. Take for example the fly lady. It was one of those days when I had 101 things to do, all with the three children in tow. After my last errand—picking a few things up at the local department store—I started hearing complaints of being hungry, from my three pint-sized assistants. Not wanting to pile them in and out of the car, one more time, we stopped at the little snack bar which was part of the store. The sole woman behind the counter asked what we would like to eat. It was then that I noticed the fly swatter in her hand. Before she took our order, she had successfully killed at least four flies behind the counter and near the grill, grumbling about the influx of the insects. My daughter and I looked at each other in shocked amazement. Needless to say we waited until we got home to eat. Now most people would have written this scenario off as an unfortunate incident. On the way home however, I couldn't get the fly lady out of my head. I don't know how, or where but somewhere in one of my stories I'm sure the fly lady will reappear. I keep thinking for some reason maybe as part of a desert truck stop. It's not just everyday errands either. Once I realized what my imagination was doing, I began exposing myself to more events and activities. Train rides, trips to the city, sky diving expeditions. The kids love all of these jaunts, tagging along with their writer mom and I have my eyes constantly open to new people, ideas, fragments of conversation, anything which might be part of my next story. Or the idea itself that a new story is based on. As a result of seeing every person as a potential character, I've learned to expose myself to more and more activities. So I jump at every opportunity, every chance to go somewhere, mundane or not. Knowing that my next character or my next story may depend on it. Carla Charter is mom to Samantha (12), Halden (5), and Mathew (4). In addition to being a mom, Carla is a freelance writer specializing in newspaper and magazine journalism. Among her publication credits are Woman's World, American Indian Report and New England Business Journal. Online she has been published in Scubasource.com and Military.com. She teaches creative writing courses at Mount Wachusett Community College in Gardner, Ma. Recently her novel Across Lots has been serialized at http://www.newenglandwow.com. She may be reached at cjfreelancewriter@earthlink.net. |
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