No, I have not changed my name to Hattie. It just kinda went with the whole alliteration thing. And no, I don't think I'm hard-hearted. But then again...am I? That is the question I'm bringing to you. :-)
I was out shopping the other day and saw something. Now, I am not a very observant person. In fact, I missed a fight and arrest right outside the window at a fast-food restaurant once--My husband even went outside to see if he could help, and I sat staring in the opposite direction, clueless. But this time, I was paying attention. Nothing quite so dramatic, but still...
Here's the scooop. I was standing in line at customer service. There were four women working behind the counter. One at a cash register asked who was next. The man in front of me stepped over to her, but when she asked if she could help him, he waved at one of the women whose back was to him. "No," he said. "I'm just here to see - - - -." I couldn't hear the rest.
So, still waiting and a little bored, I watched the girl he'd gestured to. She didn't turn around. She seemed intent on the computer screen in front of her, but then her hands went up to her hair. Stayed there, pressing into her head.
And I began to really pay attention. Frustrated at the computer? Or angry that this man had come? She still wasn't turning around. He stepped aside a little and waited.
Then her hands came down to cover her face. Still not looking at him or saying a word, she left her station. Crying. The woman who was working with her stayed beside the girl, escorted her to the break room. The man shrugged, arms open wide. And then he walked away.
He was her father.
So...as a writer, I was watching, and my mind was flipping through different scenarios. Making up plot lines. Thinking, I can use this somewhere...
And then I got to thinking that maybe I'm an alien. :-) The human race is only fodder, inspiration for whatever world I want to create in my head. I'll dissect them, see what makes them react certain ways, see what I can do to make things worse before a hard-fought happily ever after comes around. If it does.
What do you think? Alien? Heartless? Or do people in other fields do this kind of thing, too--analyzing to satisfy professional curiosity or something? And, just for the record, a little bit of compassion did kick in later. But the moment I'd care the most...would be the moment I wrote it into a book.
So what's the verdict?
1 comment:
I can only speak as a fellow writer, but I think that our innate desire to take a real-life glimpse of someone's personal life and turn it into a story, is ultimately just our attempt to make sense of the world and of mankind.
We can't possibly know the truth behind the story of their lives (unless we asked, and no doubt they wouldn't be feeling very appreciative of sharing their intimate details with a complete stranger who just witnessed them in a moment of weakness) so we instead go on our way, mentally testing out all the possibilities that could have resulted in the scene we just saw played out in real time.
Honestly, I think it's our small way of trying to comfort them. Since we can't do it in person, we try to at least give them justice in our minds, and perhaps on the page. Their story lives on. We don't just let it go, pretend it didn't happen, pretend we didn't see, or that we could easily forget.
Instead, we probe deeper. We put it out there on the page, bearing witness. We feel their emotion welling up in our own breast as we write and relive their story.
So hard-hearted Hattie, you are certainly not. More like Tender-hearted Tilly, if you ask me.
Post a Comment