Tumbleweeds and Coyotes!

Whew! It's hard to believe it's been a couple of weeks since my last post! I just got back from my first time in Texas where their food portions are about as large as the state! I guess its time to hit the treadmill!

Anyway, I travel from time-to-time and those trips take me through major airports across the country. If you want a good cross-section snapshot of differing cultures and personalities - a major airport is the place to do it!

Texas wasn't any different. I got to meet all kinds of people. I got to see two Texas Rangers at a BBQ joint we were eating lunch at. I wanted to ask them about Chuck Norris, but decided it would have been unwise. Instead, I learned of the One Riot - One Ranger story and much more. My colleagues and I spoke about how life was in Texas, where poisonous snakes are as common as the squirrels in my back yard in GA. I even learned what life on a south Texas ranch is like! I was enthralled.

Now to tie this in with writing. I was reminded how one person's reality is impacted by geology and where they live. For me, hearing about life on a south Texas ranch was the stuff of old John Wayne movies. A series of Hollywood props and one-liners. But, for folks living in South Texas, ranch life is a here-and-now reality. That night in the hotel room, my mind wandered, replaying every detail of the stories. I found myself wondering what ranch life in Texas was like. I soon found myself constructing an elaborate fantasy land in my mind of modern ranch life where rattlesnakes, coyotes and the cartel danced among tumbleweeds and dust devils. It was a world where cats and dogs, our feline and canine companions, would chase down and kill a snake quicker than a wheel gun toting cowboy. Fearless. Unrelenting.

Characters. All our stories have them. Traveling reminded me how diverse our world is. It reminded me how our environment shapes and molds our individual realities and each person has their own bubble of individualism and set of experiences that make their reality very different from our own. When writing, I have difficulty conveying that diversity, that individual character. Sure, they have different names and genders and have their own place in a plot line, but sometimes they lack depth.

When you are embarking on a new project, take time to research and flesh-out all the main characters that will appear in your book. Develop a background, life experiences and understand them - get to know them. Even if those details never make it into the book, they will weave their way into minds of readers via good character development. Only then will you truly be able to write about them and tell everyone what it is like being them! It adds character depth and adds strength to your book. If a reader doesn't care about your characters that are driving the plot, they almost certainly will care even less about the book.

So, when writing, don't neglect your characters. They need as much, if not more, attention than the plot itself.  And remember, as Will Rogers once said, always remember to drink upstream from the herd.