Day Two: What's the point?

I was exchanging text messages with a dear friend of mine, discussing the changes in my life this year. I have moved from Colorado to Massachusetts (a state whose name I only spell correctly because the blessed red squiggly line goes away when I finally get it right). I have quit teaching after something like 12 years. I have become a stay-at-home mom, something I always wanted to try, but I envisioned trying with a gaggle of friends surrounding me. I am expecting our second child, a girl, who everyone seems to think will be much, much different from the boy I've been working to understand for the last two years.

Anyway, when this friend and I were exchanging texts, she asked, "Have you thought about doing any writing in your new life?" The funny thing was . . . I had. I have been feeling a pull to fill a page for awhile, but I haven't told anyone because it was really such a nebulous feeling for me. I don't have any ideas about characters, I don't have any plans, I don't even know whether to lean toward fiction or non-fiction. When a second friend asked me the same question, I felt like I just needed to do it, to start somewhere because if I keep feeling the feeling but refusing to give it head space, I will never move forward with it. That's what this challenge is for me. It's about forming a habit and finding a purpose. I think I'll explore a few characters first, and then I'll see what direction I should take them. I've yet to really like a fiction story I've written, so I think I'll at least start with something real, and then I'll see where to go from there.

Here are a few characters I'd like to explore--

1. I'd like to explore my grandparents as characters. My grandma Helen Lawson, a nervous, bubbly woman who believed the very best of her family. She loved the color red, and she had a red poppy-shaped brooch she pinned to her jackets sometimes. She used a healthy amount of Aqua Net hairspray and when you put a hand on top of her head her hair would smoosh down and then go right back into place with a boing! She had an overboard way of loving people and animals and to her love involved eating. Her dogs dined on milkshakes, eggs, pancakes, and pizza crusts. I'm sure sometimes they also had dry food, but more often than not, there was a treat buried somewhere in that bowl.

My grandpa was a kind-hearted and relaxed. He had a way of sinking back into his chair and looking completely at home, usually soundlessly whistling if he wasn't making up a nonsense song or making a joke at my grandma's expense. He made people feel like they were his favorite. We all believed we were. He wore overalls and a trucker-style ball cap or a gray, three-piece suit with a Stetson hat. There were very few times he would be in anything else. He called me sweetheart, and no one else has ever really done that. He felt safe and special and he smelled like dry roasted peanuts.

2. I'd like to explore the 30-something mom as a character, but I don't know if there's too much more to be said about her. Seems like everyone is blogging about momming these days. I'm not sure if I can add anything unique to the story, but I do know a whole lot about this character because that's where I am.

3. A teacher could be a possibility. Again, it’s a person I know about.

4. I finished reading A Man Called Ove, and I’m currently reading Britt-Marie Was Here. Fredrick Backman has given the world these incredible people. I wish I had written Ove first. He’s a little bit of my dad, and it just made me adore him. I’m not sure where I should go with this, but I’d like to try something with the 60-year-old man if I can do it without stealing from Backman.

So, I’ll start with the first three, and I’ll see where I can go from there, but I want to write realistic fiction. I think I’ll start with short stories. Once I get to know my characters, my plans could change, but that’s what this challenge is all about. It’s about forming a habit and finding a purpose. If I have a clear path forward and am still writing on day 32 of this challenge, I’ll feel this was a very successful endeavor.