Like You Or Me

People. Have you ever wondered what makes them tick? Have you ever pondered what keeps them going? If you knew, really knew someone, would you like what you found out? If others really knew you, would they like you? Sometimes, these questions take on too much importance. We’re afraid of letting others get to know us, afraid they won’t like us or will condemn us. The really important thing is, Do you like you?

In writing a book, it’s a lot of fun to delve into the minds of the characters. The writer imagines what is important to each person, and what is the real person behind the name. For example, in Murder By Moonlight, Marvie Saunders was, to others, an inscrutable, withdrawn person. Nobody really understood her. However, Marvie had an excellent reason for her behavior. That’s what made the story–a woman who had died long ago and her strange behavior. Secrets! Marvie had ’em.

When you see or hear of someone who says or does something that, to you, is odd or wrong, be a detective (without being openly nosy). Start with the obvious and trace backward to what happened before. Can you see a connection? It’s fun to try to figure out people’s behavior. Sometimes, we reach the wrong conclusion, but it’s still fun.

The characters we meet in books, the characters we meet in everyday life are people, just like you and me (well, that may be stretching it a bit). It’s fun to try to figure out what makes them tick.

 

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