POST CARDS FROM THE MUSE

People Shopping

You sit at the table in the Food Court at the mall. After a morning spent shopping in the carnival-like atmosphere, you just need to sit for a minute.

Look at the people around you. You see store clerks on break taking off their professionally styled pumps to allow their feet to breathe. You see young mothers pushing strollers and leading pre-school children behind them. You see teenagers not in classes. You see couples walking close together, or herding small children. Or maybe you see people walking at a fast pace against the wall all around the mall to get their exercise.

What you should see in all this activity is a goldmine of characters. Allow yourself to wonder about their names, their careers, pasts, presents, futures. Let their faces become part of your character files. Imagine inviting someone to sit next to you and gently interview them. You can go back later and decide where they fit in your story and the details about them that did not come out right away.

And always ask yourself, “Are they really what they seem?”

Congratulations. You have just received a post card from the muse.

Nandy Ekle