Out of Character – Teachers Write! Day #2

Teachers Write!

 

I am a day behind, so this morning’s quick write for Teachers Write!, author Kate Messner’s virtual writing camp for teachers, will have to be super quick. I’m scheduled to walk with my friend Christina in about an hour, and I need the exercise as much as I need the writing. Let’s see if I can  whip this out.

Yesterday’s prompt was delivered by Phil Bildner, the author of the New York Times bestselling Sluggers! series, the Texas Bluebonnet Award-winning Shoeless Joe & Black Betsy and its companion, The Shot Heard ‘Round the World, both illustrated by C. F. Payne; and Twenty-One Elephants, illustrated by LeUyen Pham. Phil’s new picture book, Marvelous Cornelius: Hurricane Katrina and the Spirit of New Orleans, comes out this month from Chronicle.

Here’s Phil’s prompt…

People make wonderful prompts. Sometimes when I’m building characters, I’ll go to a place public — a coffee shop, a park, the library — and I’ll people watch. When I taught middle school in the New York City public schools, on my way to school, I would sit with my journal in my lap (when I got a seat) and make up stories and build characters based on those around me.
 
Find a fresh place to write. People watch. Create characters or character traits based on those you see. You’ll be amazed at how quickly the ideas develop.
 
 
 
Here’s my  quick-write response…character development and dinner, courtesy of our 7:30pm trip to Panera.
 
Anyone glancing over from a nearby booth would see nothing out of the ordinary about the Krikalos family. They might notice Amara’s tossed mahogany brown hair boasting a  rainbow hairwrap, a souvenir of their week spent along the crowded boardwalks of Ocean City, Maryland. Or perhaps they’d focus briefly on  her oversized, highlighter yellow tank top that drapped loosely over a hot pink bathing suit. They probably wouldn’t see the plain white Adidas that thumped beneath the booth seat. No one would comprehend the magnitude of eleven-year-old Amara’s desperation as she sat giggling and sipping tropical-flavored smoothies with her brother, Dorian. Just 11 months younger than his sister, Dorian already had the popular kid look–perfectly coiffed boyband hair the color of Kraft caramels. His olive skin, like Amara’s, had darkened after a week at the shore. Their noses bore peeling pink reminders  of a summer day spent too long in the surf. 
 
At first, George Krikolos seemed relaxed with his two offspring. His gold-rimmed sunglasses were perched atop his curly salt and pepper hair, which from the front hid the circular patch of baldness that was about the size of a dessert plate. He’d left his charchoal grey Armani suit back at the office, and instead was dressed in nearly all black athletic gear, suited up for the squash game he’d scheduled in an hour with his business partner, Alex Warner. Despite the impending court time, George was determined to make good on the promise he’d made these two kids.
 
“All the gadgets in the world can’t replace time with you,” his exwife had reminded him a zillion times, most recently at the door for tonight’s custodial tradeoff. Yet gadgets they had. Between laughter and slurps, Amara and Dorian’s restless fingers reached repeatedly for their state-of-the-art iphones. Nothing but the finest for the Krikolos kids. That’s what the world imagined. That’s what every student at Freedom Middle School assumed–and frequently whispered to Amara at her locker, as the masses passed her in the hallways, or as she sat alone rereading Harry Potter for the eighth time.
 
Forty two minutes is all he could give. One ring and Amara’s father snatched up the glistening black Samsung Galaxy S6, the latest gadget in his work-is-more-important-than-family arsenal. Amara’s hopeful eyes clouded over. She sunk into the booth, twisting her rainbow hairwrap until her scalp burned.
 
 
 
Uh oh. I ran over my time limit. I’ve got to race off to walk with my already waiting friend. I’ll get busy on today’s prompt from guest author, Melodie Crowder, later today.
My dinnertime scribbles at Panera.

My dinnertime scribbles at Panera.

I’m back after my walk and Starbucks run. I know it will be helpful (to me) to reflect on this particular writing experience.
 
Here’s what I learned: There is a wealth of public material from which to write. It felt a wee bit odd to be studying people from a short distance. I was worried they’d start to notice my glances and resultant scribbling. A few times, I’d ask my daughter or son to peer over and give me a detail I might have missed. I actually wrote three separate descriptions: one for the completely fictional Krikalos family, one for a twentysomething young woman who sat solo flipping through her Ipad, and the last for an older woman who was pushing the cleanup cart. In contrast to the casual, nondescript Panera shirt and khaki pants uniform, the older woman wore a string of pearls around her neck and pearl studs in her ears. I could imagine really developing a character like this–all the subtle contrasts I could paint.
 
For this morning’s quick write, I focused on the family, which sat the closest to us, because I had gathered the most details. While the children didn’t seem to have any accents, when the father announced, “Finish, so we can leave,” I heard a familiar accent from my own childhood. My next door neighbors were the Krikales, and Mr. Krikales spoke in a distinct Greek accent. So that’s where I borrowed the family name and heritage. I did a little research too, looking up common Greek names for boys and girls. Of course, I got to choose my favorites because it’s my character study. Ha!
 
As a teacher who daily uses the web for research and inspiration, I realized here, too, I have infinite connections and resources that can help me shape characters and stories. I think I’m diving into sponge mode–full absorption of all that I’m experiencing through this writing playground. Now, it’s off to make lemon icebox pie for my husband, who returns from Nashville tonight. More writing soon.

2 thoughts on “Out of Character – Teachers Write! Day #2

  1. I am a write what you know brand of writer, so I am impressed with what you came up with from an observation of strangers. I loved the debrief that you did at the end. It allowed me to walk through your process which is so valuable as an educator. I am going to try this prompt again, but I am going to remove myself from the situation and see where it takes me. Thanks for the guided inspiration!

    • Susan-

      I’m grateful that you left this comment as I was considering removing the reflection as it seemed to add too many more words to an already lengthy post. Thanks for letting me know it was helpful. 🙂 Which grade do you teach? If you blog with your kids, let me know.

      Cheers,
      Martha

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *