Welcome to Walsh Wednesdays! Happy Wednesday. If today is Wednesday then that means tomorrow is THURSDAY, aka the gateway to Friday. Hope everyone is having a good week and if you're not it is almost OVER.
Speaking of over, this is the last installment of Walsh Wednesdays. I set out to do it until October 28 per this first post introducing Walsh Wednesdays. I can't believe it has been exactly one month. Wow. Time is certainly speeding by. I will miss our chats, but I will try to keep in touch as much as I can. In the meantime, enjoy this final WW post and the book and as always, please feel free to reach out with any thoughts on the Walshes. You can reach me at any time: jessica@jessica-gordon.com. Alright, now…for tonight's post: Behind closed doors…and masks. That's right, Halloween is this Saturday so this post is all about 'behind closed doors,' what goes on behind the disguise, or the mask. I see Halloween and fiction writing as related. You have characters presenting themselves as one way on the page and then you see them behind the scenes. Authors get the unique privilege of writing what happens once the characters are out of the public eye and what happened to the characters before the public eye. Specifically, if you have a character going to a party. You get to read about the character getting ready for the party, the character's thoughts on who will be there, then the scene at the party, and then what happens when the character and let's say fiancé come home from the party. You get to hear the elusive "behind closed doors" conversation that we are not privy to in real life. I love that I can see the inside of a character's mind, their raw emotions, conflicts, thoughts, wants, and desires. It's all there but what they present in public is so different than what is going on in their heads. Halloween is the act of literally disguising yourself, pretending to be someone you're not for a day. But, how often are we disguising our true selves to be someone we aspire to be or think we are or hope others think that we are. We don't have someone writing the very internal dialogues that go on in our heads down on paper for anyone to read. It's interesting to think about how many times you've answered someone calmly but thought something wildly different in your head, or pretended to be engaged or interested in someone or something that was boring, or tried to be friendly with someone only to feel rejected. The list can go on…the point is who are you in public and who are you in private? This concept of a public and private self is so unique to fiction writing because you get to see the main character in both spheres. And as the author, I get to control it. :) A powerful position, but also a stressful one. You want your main character to be likable and relatable but you're reading the very thoughts that go in this person's mind and those thoughts aren't always appreciated or well liked. Then the character has a responsibility to right a wronged situation or try harder or change course under the microscope of the reader. Think of a main character you are reading about now. Do you like the person if they existed in real life? Or do you not like them but understand them and why they did what they did. When you're out on Halloween whether you're donning a full on costume or just being 'yourself' are you being the 'you' you want to be or the one that you know you are? Have a good night and Happy Halloween! Jessica Walsh Wednesday, Post #4
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JeSSICA GORDONBecoming Mrs. Walsh I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Xo. Archives
February 2016
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