I am not a very physically adventurous person. You won’t see me running any marathons, climbing Mount Everest, or parachuting out of a plane. The truth is, I’ve had serious back problems since I was about twelve. That was when a drunken Boob Fairy visited me in the night and couldn’t remember how many times she’d hit me with her wand. I fear there are a lot of flat-chested girls out there who never got their turns that night.
After I had kids, the Ass and Belly Fairies came by in a well-meaning, but poorly conceived attempt to even out my proportions. Thanks guys. I appreciate your help. Didn’t help my back any, but at least I don’t need to buy dresses that are four sizes bigger on the top than on the bottom.
All this is to explain that I do not try a lot of daring or adventurous things for the sake of my writing. No martial arts classes, no standing in a field learning to aim and fire a gun, and no jarring car chases in the name of research.
But none of those things show up in what I write (so far), so it doesn’t matter.
One of my favorite things to do is sit quietly and listen to people. If you’re ever at a restaurant with me, and my head tilts to the side while my eyes glaze over, give me a minute. I’m probably eavesdropping on the family behind me. Something in their conversation grabbed me, and trying to talk to me is useless until I’ve finished pillaging their discussion for dialogue.
Sure. I have other hobbies. I read comic books, play video games, and travel a lot. But it all sifts through my brain and comes out the other side as bits and pieces of new stories.
So, honestly, no, I don’t seek out new experiences to inform my writing. Everything I do — from throwing in a load of laundry to visiting Stonehenge has potential story material imbedded in it, especially since I mostly write urban fantasy, which combines the everyday with the strange.
In fact, maybe I’ll write a story about giants using Stonehenge as a clothesline. It’s a reasonable explanation.
I’ll get right on that. As soon as I finish recording the phone conversation you just had with your mother-in-law.
‘Cause, damn. That’s some juicy dialogue right there.
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