Monday, April 18, 2011

Ordinary...I don't think so.

To be ordinary, one must have no special abilities. Have no qualities or interests. Be the standard level of everything. I used to think I was ordinary. It wasn't my fault, really. I wasn't good at things when I was little. I made the softball team look god awful in those polyester pants. Used my nose more than the glove for catching balls. Was the last person picked for the dodge ball team, and yet, I was the number one target when the game got started. In gym class, I was the kid perpetually hanging from the pull up bar, ya know, the one meant to torment the slightly overweight throughout adolescence. When I learned to ride a bike, I was head first into my neighbors mailbox. I think there's a movie about my life somewhere. My husband, the football star loves to talk about his glory days. Me, I don't even know what those are. Well, that's not totally true. I think I'm living them now. Things get better with age. So when I write, I try to blend a little bit of the extraordinary into my characters, because I know its in there. That ability to be more than you are. That drive to go past the self esteem issues, and find the strength to make things happen. To do a freakin push up at thirty five while chanting your gym teachers name instead of a number. Sorry, got off on a little rant there. My point is, I don't think ordinary people exist. The word should be undiscovered. How about you? Are your characters extraordinary?

7 comments:

  1. Totally agree. I've never met anyone ordinary, everything has something about them. I write fantasy, so my characters are always pretty extraordinary!
    And be happy that your best days are right now, not something you have to look back on!

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  2. Great post! I never really thought about whether my characters are ordinary or not. Guess it's because, like you, I don't think in terms of ordinary.

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  3. Wonderful that we are all different and all have something unique to offer. Reminds me of my children's book Little Boy Good-for-Nothing who becomes Little Boy Good-for-Something! :0)

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  4. Thanks for that, T.C., Amazon.com don't stock my books, other than ebooks, only Amazon uk. If you would like Little Boy, you can obtain it on my website http://caroleannecarr.co.uk
    and I pay the postage. I don't make any profit, but it helps to get my work known on both sides of the pond until I can find a publisher who has offices in other countries. And the main thing is the children's enjoyment. :0)

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  5. Great post. I think everyone is unique and has something to offer the world even characters.

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  6. Beautiful blog!

    If the world had 'normal' families, it would get mightly dull.

    Give me the screwed up people with their little quirks. It keeps me hopping. (since of course I am totally normal)

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  7. I took a class where the author discussed that when planning your characters, only highlight the extraordinary. I think she's right. Who wants to read about somebody average who never does anything but BE average?

    I wish we had gone to the same school, it would have been nice to have someone to talk to while waiting for the dodge ball game to end.

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