Characters

In talking to my friend the other day, I was stealing free advice from a KSU English Department graudate really. I hope she doesn't mind. :)

Anyway, we were talking about our common "passion" - writing. She made an excellent point - that, while we draw our characters from real life, they shouldn't be exactly like us. Sure enough, most of my main characters are - me - in disguise, and the villians, love interest, etc, all real.

So I thought I'd try a few exercises in characters - maybe drawing from real life, but "filling in the blanks in people's lives" or taking a "supporting character" and finding a "main story" for him or her.

Anyway, I'm thinking of randomly posting mini-bios on people I barely know. And we'll start with (name change, obviously) Tabetha.

On the outside, Tabetha isn't the kind of person you'd stop to examine deeply. She's just loud enough to be heard - with a middle-of-the-road personality that essentially ensures that 1/3 of the people she meets love her, hate her, or don't really think much about her.

Her past isn't surprising either. It fits into her present perfectly. She has left enough of it in her life to tip you off, without delving too deeply into it. If she told you she struggled with drinking and smoking pot as a teenager, you'd believer her. But you'd just as easily believe her when she told you she didn't do it anymore. That she found religion and it saved her from herself. But she doesn't "do that" anymore either.

You'll never get far talking to her. She has a plethora of mild interests, so discussions can be long and varied, but they leave you feeling a little - empty.

There is one thing intriguing about her, though. Her career choice. Accounting? She has none of those nerdy aspects. But she seems happy at her job. Knowledgable. Competent. How did that happen? I suppose one would have to ask, wouldn't he?

Like the rest of her, the story isn't that interesting. Born to a father who was a CPA - had his own private business. Her mother stayed at home with her and her sister. Her sister started it, really. She went to the best accounting school in the country and graduated with an MBA and a 3.8.

When it was Tabetha's turn, she just did the typical thing. Followed in her father and sister's footsteps. It was easier than trying to come up with a career on her own. So she went to college and graduated, parents at her side, smiling at the camera.

I hope this story hasn't been too boring, and yet, it exemplifies the accountant really. Poor Tabetha was more of one than she thought - stable, predictable, repetitive. And intriguing. You'll never really know where she'll go from here...