Studying Emotions in Life & Writing Through Friendly Fire
February 23, 2012 by Jessie Gunderson
Filed under Blog, Notes from A Newbie, Writing Tips
I woke in the middle of the night to the rooster crowing at the moon. Strange but true. Poor pea brained birds don’t know the difference between the moon, a bright light bulb or the sun! Later, and still before the sun had risen, I woke again to the sound of a single gun shot.
At a different time in my life that sound would have caused me fear and anxiety. Now it feels right. Though I get frustrated at being awake before the sun, I smile in hopes that that sound means a family is being fed.
When my husband and I were first married we lived in a neighborhood that he (only partially teasing) called the barrio. In my mind, everywhere in Southern California was gang infested LA. I didn’t know the difference between LA and Whitter or La Mirada or Orange county. Anything South of San Francisco was LA and it scared me! I could hear helicopters at night and roosters used for cock fights crowing from neighbors garages. The little hens roamed free and would visit my yard from time to time. I lived in constant fear of a break in. Really, the fear was a product of my own wild imagination. I don’t think I was in any more danger there than most places, but I lived constantly on edge.
Now the roosters crow in my own coop and the hens provide our breakfast. The gun shots are a friendly reminder that food is on the table.
Funny how the same thing can bring such different emotions in a different setting or time of life. This is a good lesson for writing. Let’s work to show how a character’s surroundings effect them.
It’s also a good lesson in perspective. The very thing I fear can be someone’s lifeline. How can that way of thinking change your day today?
As they say, “One man’s junk is another man’s treasure.”
What other things in life look different from two sides?
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