So, this story starts out sort of alarming, but it ends with a very serious moral…at least if you are a writer (or also a human). I was headed to lunch with some teacher friends and some students a few days ago, and as we rounded the corner we saw no less than ten police cars, two fire engines, and an ambulance all parked around a section of parking lot, the perimeter of which was marked with police tape. Now, this in itself was alarming. That is a lot of emergency personnel in one spot for our relatively quiet and law abiding town. What alarmed me more, was that I discovered that it was in response to a shooting in the storefront business only a short time before…a storefront business two doors down from another that had been robbed less than a month ago…and is very close to businesses that I frequent on a daily basis (insert little panicked shriek here). But I digress... What was especially interesting about this event was that I thought I understood what the ramifications would be. I had all the ‘characters’ pegged, if you will. I felt sure the surrounding businesses would have no customers, and that after such an event the place would be a ghost town, or at best fodder for the occasional looky-loo who wanted the inside scoop on what had happened. Well, that is, except for maybe the cops and firemen working the scene. They might get a mite peckish and go into one of the other shops on the strip…specifically, as i pointed out, the smoothie place on the corner. I shared my prediction with one of the students with me (let’s call him Jack). His prompt and confident reply was, “No way! Cops don’t drink smoothies!” Upon further discussion, we agreed that if they did quench their thirst it would be in the coffee place next door. It made sense. Cops aren’t health conscious smoothie drinking hippies. They are hard nosed, gritty, coffee and donut folks who dull the pain of their daily dose of the sins of humanity with sugar and caffeine. Yes.
No. And no again. As it turns out, I know another student who worked the shift in the juice and smoothie place immediately following this incident. She told me later that “some detectives came in that afternoon.” I assumed they were there to ask if any of the workers had seen anything that would help in their investigation. “No,” she said, “they just wanted some smoothies.” Well, didn’t I feel sheepish (and Jack, you should feel sheepish too)! I had assumed that every cop would be like every other characterization of a cop. I should know better…I am not only a writer of words but a purveyor of even finer ones. Hawthorne and Steinbeck would have slapped me silly (with their words of course, because there is no finer weapon). Each of those police officers was a person, with a story, and an appetite all their own. If they are painted with the same old brush they will inhabit only cardboard facsimiles of real people. So, the moral is: Resist the urge to take the easy route. Real characters are unique and will surprise you. So write them that way. Incidentally so will real people. Don’t assume you know WHO someone is just because you know WHAT someone is. A timely lesson for us all.
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Wendy Picard GorhamWendy lives and works in the midst of words everyday--English teacher by profession, and writer by passion! Archives
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