These next few entries involve creating a character from someone we know. An acquaintance, as opposed to a close friend.
Let’s call him Edward. Setting the timer for 3 minutes to describe Edward.
Edward is in his 40s, and some would call him a trust fund baby. He probably comes from some family money. He’s a bit pious. Thinks he knows more than many other people. Maybe he does, but it’s the attitude mostly. He likes to say “I hear you” a lot. Which really means that he knows that you are speaking, and can’t wait for you to finish so he can say what he wants to say.
Edward is on the thin side. I don’t know if he are fully watches his diet or if he is just blessed with some good DNA. I have seen him in the morning headed out to work. It’s notunusual for him to be carrying a small container er of oatmeal or something. And a banana.
Next Edward will describe himself. Setting the timer for 3 minutes again.
Since my divorce last summer I’ve thrown myself into my job. My work is very important. It’s really more important for you than for me. I’m helping others. I hope I can continue this important work for several more years.
I don’t have much family but I deeply care for and am concerned about my teenaged daughter. She only lives with me part of the time. Her and her little puppy. I really don’t want dogs in my home but I haven’t said anything to my daughter. I want her to visit, even more often than she does.
Another 3 minute exercise, this time from the vantage point of someone who has gone to the Other Side and knows Edward well. 3 minutes.
Even when he was little, I remember that Edward always wanted others to listen to him. He was the one that decided what he would do with his little friends, the boundaries of the hide and go seek area in the neighborhood, who would be the Top Hat when playing Monopoly. Stuff like that. I don’t think he felt that he was being bossy. But he did feel like he knew more than the other kids, maybe he did. I know that we were better off than most of his friends, but just because you are better off doesn’t mean that you are any better.
We never really had any pets. There was that one time Edward won a goldfish at the county fair. But it was dead the next day when he mistakenly filled up the fish bowl with hot water from the tap.
Each piece reveals something new about the character.
When comparing the second to the first, we learn that Edward is divorced. Has a daughter. And doesn’t like dogs. In the third piece we additionally learn that Edward was always a bit full of himself.
It’s not really clear in the third piece who the narrator is. I’ll guess that it’s his Mother. She seems a bit more humble. She knew that the family was better off than their peers, but that doesn’t make them better than other people.
The second and third pieces give us some insight as to why Edward might behave the way that he does. For me, these were more enjoyable to write because there is a never ending sequence of “why” that is only uncovered by additional thinking, or writing.
For each of the three pieces, think of another point of view that could be explored.
First piece: Edward. Coworkers
Second piece: daughter. Ex wife, dog.
Third piece: father. Friends or playmates.
Moving on to the next exercise. Spend 3 minutes describing a favorite tree.
I think it was a maple tree. But it was a long time ago. Grade school age for me. I do remember that the leaves changed color. So not an evergreen.
There were several branches coming out from the main trunk. The first time I climbed up there by myself it was really cool. I remember being 100 feet up in the tree. Probably more like 4 or 5. One time I remember climbing up to the next branch, that was pretty cool.
It was always more difficult getting down than up. At some point we would have to jump. It wasn’t like jumping from the top of a house though.
For the next step, spend 3 minutes writing about trees in general.
Trees are interesting. They consume carbon dioxide and make oxygen. I guess the carbon stays in the tree. They make shade in the summer. When they lose their leaves in the fall it allows more light for your house. They can be decorated for the holidays. Or year round if you like. It doesn’t have to be a fir tree. Charlie Brown adopted a tree that no one else wanted. Remember that? Pandas live in trees. Way up top, looking like dots against the sky. I guess they feel safe up there. Like mother birds in their nest. Some trees make food. Apples, pears etc.
Now I need to explain what I want my tree to express. I’ve got it. I want my tree to express comfort.
For the next exercise, I’ll be spending 10 minutes writing about my tree as it expresses comfort. Taking ideas from each step (in the book these are concentric circles).
My arms spread wide, holding youngsters climbing me for fun and exercise. Or just to get a little better view of the neighborhood. You’ll often find me with old knots or other growths to help them make their way up and down by body.
My hands are often constructed of smaller branches, filled with leaves, to shield the eggs and babies in the nest from the elements and other predators. It’s important that they grow up and learn to be out on their own as they grow older. Koalas like me the taller I am. I’m not sure when they climb down.
Some of my relatives have the unique ability to produce nutrients for people, birds, and other animals. Apples, pears, oranges, walnuts and coconuts (which isn’t really a nut, I don’t think) all come from me. In fact, I have a distant cousin, called a eucalyptus, that is really the sole food source for pandas.
An important part of creating comfort for my friends is to help with weather. The deciduous part of my family is really leafy for part of the year and has no leaves the rest. During the leafy part of the year it’s usually warmer so my leaves provide welcome shade. I’ve heard that the temperature under me is often 10 degrees cooler. If I live near houses, there is an additional benefit. When I lose my leaves in the fall it let’s more sunlight, or Nature’s Furnace, to warm the houses and keep the people, plants and dogs and cats more comfortable. The following spring, the cycle repeats.
I also help keep many of my friends alive. You see, animals, need oxygen to live, I make oxygen! I’m like an oxygen factory! Animals, motorcycles, and cow farts all produce carbon dioxide. That kills animals, but that’s what I breathe! We need each other. Well, maybe not the cow farts. No one needs those, except for maybe the cows. I’m not a scientist, so if I breathe in carbon dioxide, but breathe out oxygen, where does the carbon go? Is that what helps me grow bigger and taller? I’ll need to look that up. If I had a computer I could check Wikipedia myself.