Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Have you ever done this?

So, I was having a bad day a few weeks ago. There I was jogging down a trail, trying to figure out whether to be angry, or cry, or do both at the same time. Then I realized I had an audience.

Myself.

One part of me was smack in the middle of that awful day. The other part took notes. It tried to figure out how to write a scene where my current MC felt what I was feeling. What would she do? Say? How would I describe her expression?

The awful thing is that I've done it when having conversations with other folks. I try to stop as soon as I realize I'm doing it. I want to devote all of me to listening about what's going on with them. But not before squirreling away a few notes to myself for future writing.

So, please tell me that I'm not the only one that does something like this.



9 comments:

Michelle said...

You're not. I went through a phase where I had narration in my head all the time. "And then she walked out the front door, turned left, and headed for school." Most. Boring. Story. Ever!

Anonymous said...

LOL what a relief. I'm not mad. I do this all the time, today I was in the supermarket with my internal narrator chatting away.

"The blush on the apples seemed unnatural considering the time of year. She rejected them as overseas produce. Food miles, people. Food miles."

It wasn't even GOOD narration. Sheesh.

Sarah said...

Wow. I've never narrated my life.

You do realize that my narration would probably be more boring than yours, right?

Anonymous said...

It's no wonder we write really, is it? It's got to be better than whats really going on!

Sarah said...

I think that's it, Wendy.

There often is a sense of setting the world to rights when you write.

Tess said...

This is so funny! Now, you KNOW you were born to be a writer if you're taking notes during a time like that!

Sarah said...

It is kind of funny. I'd hate to hear what a psychologist might say about it, though!

AlisonV said...

In the recent movie The Holiday, the character played by Cameron Diaz is a movie trailer producer. You know the previews and ads for movies, like a blurb on a book jacket?

This is exactly what happens to her, she starts hearing and seeing movie trailers about her life.

It isn't just you!

Sarah said...

I forgot about that! At least I never had background music playing, and a voice beginning the scene with, "In a world where..."