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Tuesday 5 February 2008

In Someone Else's Shoes

Very often, I'm amazed at how mundane my days have become. As a teenager, I imagined all sorts of exciting scenarios for my life. I would travel the world, sing on Broadway and be a best-selling author (still working on that one). Instead, I live in a little town of 2000 people, where exciting means you said hello to three people at the post office instead of one. I often watch people around me and wonder what they do to break the monotony.

But writing helps cure all my longing for a little adventure. Through the characters I create, I can be any age, live anywhere in the world, be male or female and choose bizarre occupations. In fact, I don't even have to make my characters be part of this world.

Once a character is born in my head, I get the wonderful task of getting to know what he/she is really like. The character I've been hanging out with today loves Tai Chi and drinking hot chocolate at midnight. She is independent and opinionated. She has a secret that will change the lives of everyone around her and she is also 99 years old.

Now I'm nowhere near 99, but it's fun trying to get into her head. I'm taking all the conversations I've ever had with my own elderly grandmothers and other women I've known and trying to get a sense of what it is like to hit that age. It's interesting to think what I might be like, if and when I get there. And then I wonder how a 99 year-old would react to the situation she finds herself in, compared to a 29 year-old who finds herself in similar circumstances.

The stories in my head have been pretty interesting this afternoon and beat the social event at the post office any day. Maybe that explains why my life, which really appears very boring on the outside doesn't drive me crazy. I can always walk in someone else's shoes as I craft a character and a story. That kind of excitement suits me just fine.

9 comments:

Nicole Hunter said...

I know what you mean! I don't have a talent for writing, but it's great to find something that you enjoy that gets your creative juices going and livens up your spirit when life gets mundane!

Tristi Pinkston said...

Great post, Stephanie! I think you encapsulated one of the things that makes writing so very addictive -- the ability to go somewhere else, be someone else for a while. It sure comes in handy when real life is just drifting along.

Tristi Pinkston said...

Great post, Stephanie! I think you encapsulated one of the things that makes writing so very addictive -- the ability to go somewhere else, be someone else for a while. It sure comes in handy when real life is just drifting along.

Autumn Ables said...

Oh, funny! I can just see you now..having conversations out loud in the third person trying to hone in the elderly circuit as your family is staring at you shaking their heads. hehehehehe...I'm teasing ya. ;)

Ya know what- I think I should move to a small town...maybe I'd be less busy and then I can talk to myself and my charachters will be more real. HA

Stephanie Humphreys said...

My family is used to talking out loud. Some of the kids do it, too. Of all the strange habits to pass on!

If you're looking for a small town, the house around the corner is for sale, but then you'd have to move to Canada. Not likely, eh? :)

Kerry Blair said...

I love this blog! (I love all your blogs, but this really struck a chord.) Would you be willing to share it -- or something similar -- as a guest blogger over on Six LDS Writers and a Frog?

Stephanie Humphreys said...

Kerry, I'm so glad you enjoy the blog. And thank you for the invitation. I'd love to share that post on Six LDS Writers and a Frog.

Kerry Blair said...

Thank you! I'm excited!

I can't find an e-mail address to contact you privately, so plan for me to steal this blog for Friday, February 29. I'm speaking at a conference that weekend, so it will be a relief for me and a real treat for out readers!

Again, thanks.

Kerry Blair said...

Thank you! I'm excited!

I can't find an e-mail address to contact you privately, so plan for me to steal this blog for Friday, February 29. I'm speaking at a conference that weekend, so it will be a relief for me and a real treat for out readers!

Again, thanks.

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