100 Word Challenge for Grown Ups – Week #159 …but you need cash…
“Jesus Becca, you gonna stare at that or drink it? You’re making me dizzy drawing circles. You think a genie is gonna pop out and grant you three wishes?”
Becca cast a sideways glance at her friend, Sam. “I’m thinking.”
“Thinking my ass, you’re sulking.”
Becca shrugged, “I don’t need them or the job.”
“But, you need cash to pay rent and put food on the table; you know, minor inconveniences.”
Becca slid three hundred dollars and a card across the table. New Age Escorts.
“The genie likes the way I draw circles,” she said, smiling.
Character development is one of the most important aspects of a story and we’ve all heard about round or flat characters. But, what does that really mean?
Round (full) characters are complex, multidimensional, and often referred to as having layers. In other words, there’s more to a well-developed character than meets the eye. Think about the main character in your own work. As an author, we know the complexities of our protagonist. The trick is to bring what we envision in our heads to life on the pages.
On the other hand, flat characters (typically, a minor character) are one-dimensional and boring. What you see is what you get with these undeveloped characters. Even with a great plot, if the characters are weak, you won’t keep the interest of your readers. Readers want to be engaged, connected, and pulling for our characters. And, it’s easy, if we’re not careful, to bury our readers with pages of backstory instead of giving them the characters they desire.
So, how can we give our characters more dimension?
Backstory –peppered throughout, not dumped. Given in large doses, anything can turn us off, even chocolate.
Dialogue – whether, the manner in which they speak or a distinctive dialect, dialogue reveals a character’s personality, motivations, and helps move the story forward.
She ran the brush through her hair and reached for her favorite lipstick applying it with care. At a young age, she discovered she could get anything she wanted by puckering her perfectly heart-shaped lips into a pout. Later, the tilt and flutter of her eyes made guys stutter and stumble. Men longed to hear the beauty of her delicate laughter and stroke her long silken hair. But, it was the subtle scent of Chanel and the sway of her hips, which revealed the true depth of her power – stealing hearts.
“Time to get honest and vulnerable. Share with us an embarrassing fact, an awkward truth, something you wish didn’t happen but did. Or tell us about failure, a time when you totally messed up, and what you learned from it.”
Day 21
A long time ago (never ask a lady her age) I was the Bone and Tissue Transplant Coordinator for the American Red Cross (ARC). In spite of dealing with grieving families, the job became one of my all time favorites. As a result, of a massive education campaign, and the success of the program, I drew the attention of the local hospital’s Chief Operating Officer (COO).
I met with him, expecting to discuss how the hospital could help support the bone, and tissue program. Instead, he offered me the job of Director of the Same Day Surgery facility.
I took a leap of faith as well as the position and in short order, brought the facility from the red into the black and updated it with a new look. As part of the renovation, I decided families needed something to occupy their time while waiting. So, in a brilliant stroke of genius, (at least in my mind), I purchased movies and made them available for waiting family members.
Our library of videos (yes, videos) included the latest, most popular films, like Moonstruck (Cher’s Oscar winning performance) and Kevin Costner’s No Way Out.
I arrogantly believed everyone would be thrilled to have something better to do than reading outdated magazines. Only, I forgot a few things about these two movies in particular, and it never dawned on me to refresh my memory or consider the demographics of the patrons frequenting our waiting room. We had the latest amenities available to our families and I was proud (Pride comes before a fall).
Until the morning, I received a call from the COO.
“Sheila, I’ve received a call from Reverend…. He was upset and offended by the adult movie playing in SDS’s lobby; especially given there were children.”
My heart stopped, but my mind raced through the list of movies. I didn’t recall anything offensive. A couple might contain a bit of spicy language, but nothing too bad (I thought).
“Are you showing movies it the waiting room?” he asked.
I swallowed. “Yes, sir, but the people requesting to watch a movie make their own selection,” I explained.
“What are they rated? The Rev. mentioned a limousine scene, he said it was X-rated.”
I didn’t have a clue. My mind had gone to mush. “ I don’t recall anything remotely X-rated, but if someone has complained or finds one of them offensive, I’ll remove it.”
“Well, I liked to view it.” Oh, shit!
“Excuse me?”
“The Rev. may be making a mountain out of a molehill. Bring me the movie, I’ll review it and then we’ll decide what we need to do.”
“Which movie did he mention?”
I heard papers moving as if he was looking for something. “No Way Out. I’ll expect you to bring it up as soon as you can get a break.”
“Yes, sir.” I grabbed the movie from the lobby, a video player, locked myself in my office, and fast-forwarded the tape until I reached the scene in the limo. Oh My God! How did I miss that and what the hell was I thinking.
I walked the tape up the stairs to the COO’s office, certain I’d be fired. I thought he’d view only the questionable section, but no, he wanted to take it home and watch the whole damn thing. I left wondering if I should pack my things.
He summoned me to his office bright and early the next morning.
“Close the door, please.” I stared at the video player sitting beside his desk and waited.
“I watched the movie, and I gotta say that was some limo ride. Do you remember it?”
I played dumb. “No, sir.”
“Well, the only way I can describe it is to show you.” He reached toward the equipment.
I prayed the floor would devour me. “That won’t be necessary, sir. I’ll take your word for it. The movie will no longer be available and I’ll personally view the others to make sure nothing of this nature will happen again.”
“The Rev. was pretty upset.”
“I’ve written him a letter of apology.”
“Good.” He stared at me a moment, then broke into a smile. “ That’ll be all.”
I didn’t lose my job that day, but I did learn a valuable lesson. Perception is reality and people don’t always perceive things the same way. What one person (me) sees as a love scene, another person views as pornography (the Reverend). The intent of my actions was good, but the execution was lousy. I’ve never forgotten the experience, what I learned, or the movies.
Those movies, based on today’s standards, are mild, but back then, they crossed the line and I had been the one carrying the ball. I’ve always been ahead of my time, but sometimes it gets you tackled or thrown out of the game.
I’d love to hear your comments. Talk to me. Tell me your story. And as always, you can follow me on Facebook at SheilaMGood and Twitter@cofcmom.
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