Experiment 1: Walking in a character's shoes

Walking in a character's shoes. It sounded so Kill-a-Mockingbird-esque. I'm not sure where I first heard this advice, but the idea is that you're supposed to write from one or more characters' perspectives to get to know them, and in turn, it might spark something. I figured it was the perfect place to start trying to get my groove back.

I chose Crystal Harris. Who? She was the gangly blonde who made up three random paragraphs in the middle of my novel. And I had no clue what she was even doing there.

So you might be thinking that since I'm the writer, I should really be in on the secret. Maybe. But writing can be kind of an out-of-body experience for me. I feel less like a creator and more like a recorder, waiting to hear what comes next. I'm not in control. I'm just along for the ride. Not sure if it's like that for everyone.

Anyway, the exercise was pretty successful. As it turns out, Crystal was far from the one-dimensional villain I originally suspected her of. She grew up in Rhode Island and she resents her parents for moving her to the desert. Like so many characters in my book, she feels like her destiny is out of her control. Suddenly, she made sense. She wasn't random. She fit right in. She was still gangly, but a little more well-rounded.

I didn't get any usable writing done, but I did make some headway. And I woke up thinking about her instead of laundry and work and errands. To me, that's a step in the right direction no matter whose shoes I've got on.

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