Sue's News

(Personal) History Lesson

April 29th, 2010

A friend of mine just returned from a trip she took with her family to South Carolina. It was an eye opening experience in many ways. She got a sense of her ancestry, and the culture her family has been steeped in for years. She ate new foods, and finally understood why some of the foods and words she’s grown up with her whole life came from.

Sometimes, when I’m trying to figure out a character, I try piecing together a personal history… usually memories of specific events that reveal why this person is who s/he is.

More than a mirror, personal history can be a window into the soul… or a door where one can pass through, and find him or herself on the other side.

I keep writing personal because unlike a history lesson that can be cut and dry — a jumble of dates, names, places… personal history is imbued with feelings… some of which come readily to the surface, and others which have that take time to bubble up.

It’s a undertaking to be sure, but it’s well worth the process.

–Sue

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