Focus on the Characters

I recently read some interesting advice given to writers.  The author was urging her fellow writers to focus on the characters of a story instead of the plot.  Instead of agonizing over the plot line and whether it should go this way or that, you should focus on your characters and develop their lives and really get to know them.  Then the plot will naturally flow.

I can't remember the last time I wrote a short-story with character development and everything, but it was probably in third grade when I wrote about a girl who discovered a jungle through a secret portal in her bedroom, total Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe style.  Anyways, short-stories aside, I love the concept of focusing on the characters, because it means something to my daily life. 

I can worry on the "plot line" of my life-- my future internship at a charter school and being a grad student-- or I can focus on the characters of my life and give them my full attention.  For example, as a school social work intern I will have to learn tedious paper work systems and charts and measurement scales and things as a dry to me as a saltine cracker.  Yeah, I can worry about it all if I really want to.  But I hope I will choose to get to know that one student in front of me, and give them my full attention. Then, when I'm trudging through paper work later, I can remember the way her pigtails were so cutely uneven, or the way he stretched so dramatically when he yawned.  I hope I am just that observant.  The I can plow ahead with the technical stuff, because I first focused on the characters.

With God, my prayers can be so unnatural and stilted, it sometimes sounds nothing like me.  I have to pull myself through to the finish with an awkward limp because I am so focused on my words, on my scattered thoughts, and on anything but the Lord. But.... if I only focus on the character.  On him, Jesus. Then words and silences can flow as naturally as falling waves, and I sound.. like myself.  But it doesn't even matter because I'm thinking about my character (my Jesus)-- not me.  

So, if I ever write a short-story again, I have some good advice.  But for now, I have some good life wisdom to digest.

Characters > plot.  (See? I even made it into a nice handy equation!)

Here's me with a couple Sunday school kids, who are basically the definition of improptu and sugar highs and love.