Tuesday, May 1, 2018

There You Are by Carla Damron


Who are you?

Who ARE you?

Are you a businessman? Insurance?

No. Something in the arts.

A … singer.

No, an artist. You are definitely an artist.

Male, I think. Not handsome, but somehow noticeable, if not striking.

Short? No. You’re tall.

Quite tall. With dark hair. Dark, except that one streak of gray. An artful strand of silver. People always take notice.  

Your voice is … deep? Loud?

Deep and resonate, and British. Your voice is British!

What is your medium?

Clay?

No, not clay.  Too messy.

You are a painter.

Watercolor?

I don’t think so.

Acrylic. Yes, you paint with acrylics—bold colors. Big canvases. Abstracts.

Your most famous work is … what?

A squiggly line—no three of them--- swirled blues, greens, and grays, against a silver background.
You title this work “Three.”

No, not that. Something vague, obtuse.

You call it “Dancing Alone.”

People talk about that title, trying to find some deep meaning that you know is not there.

And you love it.

You are a sharp dresser.

You choose clothes carefully to portray the style you wish to convey. Today you have on dark jeans, a linen shirt, and a fitted leather jacket. The scarf around your neck was woven in Sussex, England which you tell people is your home.  

Because they don’t know any different.

They have never been to Sussex.

Nor have you.

You regret your single tattoo: an upside-down triangle with a line through it: the alchemist symbol for earth. It is too large on your right forearm.

You are a sexual being, but relationships are not your thing.

There had been that one woman, a long time ago, who captured you with her humor and her kiss that filled you with such promise. You let her hold your heart.


She crushed it.

You learned your lesson.


You use your height in social situations.  If someone displeases you, you simply step a little closer so that you stand over them.

You can pin a person with your stare. Sometimes this evokes the tiniest fear response, an unconscious pulsing of pupils, and then you smile.

The smile relieves them. They see it as warmth.

You see it as victory.

This is how you get your way.

And you always---or nearly always--- get it.

Ah yes.

THERE you are.

I know you now.

At least, I know what you’ve showed me so far. I will learn more as the pages continue.

You have so much to tell me.

I look forward to an amazing journey together.

7 comments:

  1. Is this your approach to developing a character in your head before you commit him to paper?

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  2. Sounds like a fascinating person (or character) with a tale to tell.

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  3. This is how it works for me most of the time! And yes, he's gonna be fun!

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  4. Do you start with the basic personality or physical attributes like eye and hair color?

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  5. Margaret, I don't really start with anything except maybe gender. Sometimes it takes a while, but the character will crystallize and become real. Then the attributes are there.

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  6. Carla, I can't wait to read this book you're working on. I'm going to love this character.

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