Tag: life

I found one of my best characters by paying attention and taking notes

One of my readers once asked how I come up with the complex characters for my novels and give them their particular mannerisms. The answer is complex: a mixture of research, a study of traits and personalities, close observation of people, watching their habits and quirks.

Many articles and books and creative writing courses have been written about character development, and my initial thought was to refer to those sources.

But as I thought about the question, I realized I had a good short answer: I listened to my dad talk. Thoughout his life, Dad invariably found himself connecting with the most curious and remarkable characters and, being the fabulous storyteller that he was, he loved telling the stories of these people.

In a book I wrote with him – “If You Can’t Pay Attention, Take Notes,” a collection of his sea stories – one of the vignettes highlights Dad’s friendship with an undercover NIS agent, completely unaware of the agent’s identity.

I was so intrigued by this character that I put him in a series of novels I wrote (the “Para Team 1” series) that involve an agent with a special unit of Naval Intelligence.

Here’s Dad’s account of the inspiration for my character, as told in his sea stories (more info about the book here):

When I was stationed in Norfolk, I met a fellow who worked in the Beachmaster unit with me. Mike was a second class boatswain’s mate and had been for a long time. You could tell by the stripes up his arm that he’d been taking the first class test for a while and obviously hadn’t passed it yet. The boatswain’s mate first class test was hard to pass.

That didn’t seem to bother him, though. He was a nice, easy-going guy – loved to tell jokes and play cards and fish. We had a lot in common.

Mike was married and had two kids. We went fishing all the time, and he and his wife came over and played cards with me and Pat. Over the course of a year, we got to know them pretty well. We even went on vacation together.

One day two military police came to the door of our building. Mike was standing between them. The MPs asked to come in to talk to a particular chief who was on duty. I told them it was a secure building and I couldn’t let them in, but if they would wait there, I’d go get him.

I found the chief and took him to the door, and the MPs arrested him. The whole time Mike didn’t look at me. I was worried about what kind of trouble he was in.

I found out from some others in the building that the chief they arrested was suspected of selling answers to the first class test. Now I was really worried about Mike.

As soon as I got off duty, I went to his house to see his wife and let her know I was going to the brig to see Mike. But when I got there, the house was completely empty. All of it was gone – the furniture, their clothes, the food in the refrigerator. Nothing was left. No moving boxes, nothing in sight.

By this time I was thoroughly confused, but I made my way over to the brig and asked if I could see Mike.

He wasn’t there. In fact, they had no idea who I was talking about.

When I got home, I told Pat about it. She was shocked. She had just seen Mike’s wife in the commissary the day before.

When I got to work the next day, I found out that Mike had been working undercover with Naval Intelligence. They had known for a while that someone was selling secrets to the test, but they weren’t sure who it was. Mike – obviously not his real name – had been working on the case all that time.

Several years later I was stationed in Charleston. One day I was walking across the base, when I passed someone who looked familiar. I turned around; he turned around. We stared at each other for a moment.

It was Mike.

But he was no longer a second class boatswain’s mate. Now he was a chief engineman.

He looked surprised, like he didn’t know what to say, but then he extended his hand.

“John, how’s it going?” he asked.

“It’s going good,” I said. I wasn’t sure what to call him, so I hesitated. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m stationed on the Sierra,” he said.

I didn’t ask him why. I figured he probably couldn’t tell me, and whatever he did tell me wouldn’t be true.

So we talked about fishing. After about ten minutes, he went on his way and I went on mine.

About a week later, I heard about a drug bust on the U.S.S. Sierra. I wasn’t surprised at all.

I never did see Mike again. At least I don’t think I did. Might depend on whether he got good at disguises.

I Do Declare: When it comes to productivity, rest is best

Today is Labor Day in the United States, one of the 11 federal holidays (12 when the year has an Inaugural Day), which for most people means: Don’t you dare do anything resembling work, unless it’s laboring over a grill in your backyard.

Labor Day was established as a federal holiday in 1894 by President Grover Cleveland in recognition of workers’ rights. Which I’m sure was a great idea at the time. However, it has since evolved into a recognition of the right not to work that day.

In the interest of accuracy, I’m thinking it really should be renamed Rest Day.

Which isn’t a bad idea. (Resting, I mean, not renaming the day.) Especially for all you creatives out there.

Let’s be honest. If you’re a contractor / freelancer, chances are you tend to have a mindset something like this:

I want to achieve … so I need to stay productive … which means I need to keep working … so I can be in constant motion … to achieve all I want to get done.

You know what the problem is with that mindset?

We’re not Energizer bunnies; we can’t keep going and going and going, even if we do have a cute little drum to beat on as we go merrily along.

Besides, perpetual motion doesn’t work with humans. That whole concept is hypothetical anyway, because a machine that can work indefinitely without an external energy source would violate the first and second law of thermodynamics. And I know that only because I have befriended Google.

Think about it: Even God rested from His labors on the seventh day. Trust me, you’re not going to one-up God. Don’t even try.

So let’s get real, creatives. If you want to keep going, you need to rest now and then – or better yet, on a regular basis.

Take a break before you break is what I’m saying.

Here are a few ideas for embracing the noble concept of rest:

Physical Rest

  • Get proper sleep, by which I mean: Turn the TV off and go to bed on time.
  • Fashion your bedroom into a total comfy zone. You can do this without expensive redecorating. Yes you can. Spray lavender (known for its relaxation properties) on the mattress and pillows when you change the sheets. I spray my pillows every day. The smell of it (let’s call it by its name: aromatherapy) helps me get into a deep sleep.
  • Do whatever you can to work in nap time during the day. Kindergarten teachers know what they’re doing: Naps are good for you. Plus, if your high energy is first thing in the morning, if you take a nap midday, you get two mornings out of one day. Win!

Mental/Sensory Rest

  • Unplug from sensory overload. Leave the TV off for a day (or several days). Ignore the news for a while (trust me, it’ll be there when you get back).
  • Write in a journal to get any negative thoughts out of your head. Or start a gratitude journal so you’re focusing on good things. Or both.
  • Try some relaxation exercises, like deep breathing, yoga, qi gong, or t’ai chi.
  • Take up a hobby that uses other parts of your brain (thereby giving the parts you’re pushing hard all the time a break), like jigsaw puzzles, painting, knitting, or needlework.

Emotional/Social Rest

  • Put deliberate boundaries around social media – i.e., no screen time at least an hour before bed and no peeking at Facebook if you wake up during the night.
  • Know your introvert or extrovert leanings – are you energized by being in a crowd or by pondering alone? – and adjust your expectations accordingly.
  • Be authentic in your relational contacts: Don’t be afraid to say no (it can be done gracefully), let your friends know if you’re in need, and put a moratorium on unhealthy relationships.

Creative/Spiritual Rest

  • As much as possible, set boundaries around work. (It’s ok to not be available 24/7.)
  • Connect with your spiritual nature – e.g., read an inspiring Bible passage every morning and meditate on it, join a church group, listen to inspiring music that reminds you that you are a child of God.
  • Fill your soul with nature. Take a walk through a park. Hike through mountain trails. Walk on the beach.

The benefits of rest are so much worth any cost of taking up any of these suggestions: a better immune system, improved mental health, and an increase in creativity. Worth a try, isn’t it?