A - Z OF PEOPLE WATCHING: L IS FOR LYING

As children, and still as adults, we are told that lying and purposely misleading or deceiving others is bad. Does that then mean that any lie we might tell instantly makes us a bad person? And what of characters that lie? Can you ever like a character that lies?

L is for Lying

Despite the fact that we are taught that honesty is best, research conducted by Bella DePaulo showed that people lie at least once or twice every day. And if I was really honest, I could probably count myself with these people. But I wouldn't say I was a bad person.

Recently I thought I was buying a particular service only to realise later that it wasn't what I had thought it was. In fact it was a poor substitute. This deception really annoyed and frustrated me. But is it any different to when I tell a friend that a new haircut or item of clothes looks good (when in fact it really doesn't)? Both are lies. But the purposes are different. Whilst the shop I went to gained extra profit from their deception, I didn't really gain much from lying to a friend. Except perhaps maintaining a positive relationship. 

So do these little lies I tell make me a bad person? Would society be a better place if we didn't lie at all? Or are some little lies that smooth over social interactions a necessary evil? Many people believe that if we didn't have these little 'white' lies, then society would be very different, and not for the best either.

What I loved about the main character, Moist von Lipwig, in Terry Pratchett's Going Postal is that he cheats, cons and tricks his way through life. In fact, lying and disguising his true self has become second nature to the point where being himself makes him feel naked and vulnerable. He barely even recognised how his tricks and lies might affect other people and and enjoyed the thrill of getting away with his scams and schemes. 

"No one had bothered him. No one had looked at him twice; no one ever did. The city gates had indeed been wide open. The plains lay ahead of him, full of opportunity. And he was good at parlaying nothing into something. For example, at the first little town he came to he'd go to work on this little old nag with a few simple techniques and ingredients that'd make it worth twice the price he'd paid for it, at least for about twenty minutes or until it rained. Twenty minutes would be enough time to sell it and, with any luck, pick up a better horse worth slightly more than the asking price. He'd do it again at the next town and in three days, maybe four, he'd have a horse worth owning."

But despite all these things, I liked him. I really, really liked him. If he was just a liar and conman, then I wouldn't have. But he was more than that: he changed and grew. Meeting a rather brusque young lady helped him to slowly start seeing the error of his ways. He found somewhere that needed his charm and cheeky talk. He found someone that cared for him; someone he could care for; and he wanted to be better.

Like many of the people in DePaulo's study, I don't lie to hurt others or to necessarily gain anything. None the less, I do lie. But these lies aren't the whole of me, they don't define me; they allow me to get on better with other people. This might not be the case for everyone, but when it comes to book characters, I think we can like characters that lie if they aren't the defining feature of them. If there is more to them than lies. If there are other things that they care about.

Could you ever like a character that lies?

A - Z OF PEOPLE WATCHING: K IS FOR KISSING

Call me old fashioned, or perhaps a romantic at heart, but a kiss, especially a first kiss, should be a very special thing. 

K is for Kissing

What I love, is that there are so many different types of kisses. Kisses for every person, and for every occasion. As someone once said, you wouldn't kiss your mother like you would kiss your lover.

There are the friendly greetings, or cheek kisses. Sometimes you might not even make actually contact with the other person, particularly if you don't know or like the other person very well.

There's the tentative kiss for not quite friends, not quite lovers. This kiss involves a whole dilemma of where you should actually aim for when kissing them. Cheek or lips? In the most awkward of situations, one person will be aiming for somewhere different to the other person, and there will be an inevitable bumping of noses. How embarrassing!

More comfortable couples will often share a quick peck.

And if you happen to be out on the town of a Saturday night you might see the full-on snog. Full of passion, emotion and plenty of tongue, thankfully you don't see this too often in public.

Then there is the first kiss; my favourite to read about or watch on screen. A perfect first kiss should be a mix of tentative nerves, excitement, desire, shyness and longing. And if there has been a build up to the kiss, all the better. Think Leonardo and Clare in Romeo & Juliet.

For a first kiss, I simply adore the following passage from Seraphina by Rachel Hartman:

If I could keep a single moment for all time, that would be the one.
I became the very air; I was full of stars. I was the soaring spaces between the spires of the cathedral, the solemn breath of chimneys, a whispered prayer upon the winter wind. I was silence, and I was music, one clear transcendent chord rising toward Heaven. I believed, then, that I would have risen bodily into the sky but for the anchor of his hand in my hair and his round, soft, perfect mouth.

There is something so magical, beautiful and pure about the way Rachel Hartman has written this kiss. Rather than a blow by blow account, Seraphina's account focuses on the emotional impact of how it makes her feel.

Do you have a perfect book or movie kiss?

A - Z OF PEOPLE WATCHING: J IS FOR JUSTICE

To be honest, this post was meant to be about a different topic, but then I started reading a new book and I just had to change the theme.

J is for Justice

I wanted to write about justice because of the book I'm reading, but thought I would struggle to think of something 'real' to go with it. I haven't had any run-ins with the police (except for when my car got broken into many years ago), and I haven't ever really felt that I've suffered an injustice. But something that keeps coming up with these posts is that life isn't made up of big events. It’s made up of a series of little things. And these little things can often weigh on us as much as the big things.

The other night I was awoken at 1am by shouting and banging. Being a nosy neighbour I had to look out the window. I saw a man jump into a van and race off down the street. No big deal. Except I'm pretty sure I saw the van bump another car. Okay, so I didn't have my glasses on, but yeah he scratched it. But I keep telling myself it may or may not have happened, because I felt bad about not doing anything with the information. I figured there was no point in finding this other neighbour and saying some van bumped your car, but I can't tell you the license plate of the van or what the man looked like. So I did nothing. But I feel very guilty, firstly because I feel like some sort of accomplice. But also because I know the car-owner is unable to get any justice for the wrong that has happened to them.

Whilst this may seem like a silly thing, having done a little research on the concept of justice, it seems that fairness and justice may be 'wired' into our brains and might go someway to explaining my feelings of guilt.

I also discovered there are different types of justice including distributive justice (where someone gets what they deserve) and retributive justice (punishment for a wrong doing), which is what my neighbour will never get. Immediately these concepts struck a chord with what I was reading about in Heart-Shaped Bruise by Tanya Byrne and what the main character Emily was trying to achieve.

The story is absolutely captivating, and is unlike a lot of other books in the YA market. Emily is the bad girl that everyone is scared of. She’s in prison and she is by no means the archetypal protagonist. She’s obviously done some very bad things. But as I read more and more, I started questioning just how bad her actions were. Were they justified to any degree? To Emily, her actions were based on exacting justice; evening an injustice.

But that’s not why I did it. You must know that, otherwise you wouldn’t be asking. So, okay, you want to know why? This is why: you stabbed my father. That’s it. What don’t you understand? China shop rules, Juliet: you break it, you pay for it, and you broke me. You got what you deserved.

What I love about the story is that it isn’t a black/white answer of whether Emily was wrong, or whether she’s bad. Life doesn’t work like that. And whilst legal justice might be more black and white than grey, distributive and retributive justice come in varying shades of grey.

A - Z OF PEOPLE WATCHING: I IS FOR IMPERFECTIONS

I recently found a great post (as part of a larger author-contributing website) on writing for a YA audience. Alane Ferguson* says that a young audience won't believe or relate to a character that is too wise or too level headed for their age.

I is for Imperfections

I would go one step further and say, regardless of the genre or audience, any perfect character is surely unbelievable; ideal, maybe, but unbelievable because no-one is perfect.

I love my boyfriend, friends and family, but I'm not naive enough to think they are without their faults (sorry folks!). Regardless of these though I still love them all, because that's who they are; the good comes with bad. And trust me, I definitely don't think I'm perfect either. I'm terrible at standing up for myself (even after a bad manicure in which I left with a cut finger, I still gave a tip!!!); I'm really not that bothered that my roots show through; and I leave tissues in my trousers pocket so that all the clothes come out of the washing machine scattered with a flurry of white fluff. I really can't sing, but in the car I love to do it at full volume; I bite my lip to shreds when I get nervous; and quite honestly I don't know what I'm doing career or aspiration wise.

But these flaws make me who am I; as your flaws make you who you are. But they shouldn't be forgotten when it comes to writing a character. Imperfections make the characters real, relatable and more interesting. Some of my favourite characters openly admit their faults, whilst others don't quite realise where they are going wrong.

But it's not just about the characters in isolation. Perhaps the underlying arc of the story is some sort of character development, or maybe a character's faults lead them down a certain path and thus informs the plot. These things couldn't happen if your protagonist is perfect to start with.

When I first started reading Stephen King's Carrie, I was surprised by how much of a train wreck sixteen year old Carrie was. She was a loner, completely oblivious to what was happening to her changing body, and passively accepted the taunts and teasing from the other school girls.

When Miss Desjardin led Carrie up to the office fifteen minutes later, the halls were mercifully empty. Classes droned onwards behind closed doors.
Carrie's shrieks had finally ended, but she had continued to weep with steady regularity. Desjardin had finally placed the napkin herself, cleaned the girl up with wet paper towels, and gotten her back into her plain cotton underpants.
She tried twice to explain the commonplace reality of menstruation, but Carrie clapped her hands over her ears and continued to cry.

To her peers Carrie had many, many faults, which they bullied her for. I empathised with her but found her a little hard to sympathise with to start. But as I discovered what her mother and home life was like, I began to understand why she was the way she was. Carrie is far from perfect, at the start or at the end of the story, but her quirks, imperfections and experiences influence how she behaves, drives the plot forward, and in the end make me understand her as a person (and maybe just a little, root for her too).

Do any of your favourite characters have any imperfections? ...Do you...?

*You can find Alane Fergus's post on Writing Imperfect Characters at Writing Teen Novels.

A - Z OF PEOPLE WATCHING: H IS FOR HOPE

As we celebrate the New Year, lots of us will be thinking of the year to come, what we hope to achieve, and possibly even making New Year's resolutions.

H is for Hope

Sadly lots of people I know in work scorn resolutions as a fad and a waste of time. I completely understand this; sometimes we might want to change something, but just don't have the desire or drive to do it. And this often leads to failure, and in turn to despair. But I always make resolutions. Yes, I really want to succeed and achieve the goals I set myself. But I also don't mind failing, because at least I will have tried.

Most people making resolutions will probably hope to lose weight, see family more often, get a new job or quit smoking. Mine are to grow my nails (not 'stop biting my nails' - as with hope, a resolution should be positive); finish writing a dystopian short story I started a while back; and travel more. Whilst hope is a key concept in lots of fictional writing, and is often a motivating force for change in the key characters, it's not often you read about characters in books wanting to achieve mundane goals like quitting a bad habit. (It's just not that interesting to read about.) But more common themes in YA are new relationships, being accepted by peers, or surviving life threatening situations.

If I thought people might read them all, I would give quotes from lots of books, including Debutantes by Cora Harrison, which is about four young sisters in the 1920s, each hoping and striving to escape their humdrum life and fulfil their career ambitions. Or from Whisper by Chrissie Keighery, which follows 16 year old Demi as she copes with becoming deaf. The whole story is wrapped up in feelings of hope and despair, fear and courage, and the emotional journey Demi goes through, from hopelessness to hope, is completely heart warming and touching.

The book I'm going to quote though is Partials by Dan Wells, because it looks at hope, not just to live, for the whole human race to survive. Set in the future, the human race is near extinction. Even the remaining survivors of a genetically engineered virus, RM, are unable to have babies that live passed a few days. Despite the government's attempts to find a cure, through enforced pregnancy (the Hope Act), there is little to be hopeful about. Yet, Kira wants to fight for the future and go out into unchartered territory to find a Partial so they can create a cure. There is no certainty that anyone will survive, but Kira has hope on her side. And if you don't have hope, what do you have?

"Of course it's worth it," said Kira. "Say that it's stupid, say that it's impossible, but never say that it's not worth it. We know full well that we might not be coming back alive, or successful, and I recognize that, and I wouldn't have suggested it if I wasn't ready to accept it. But Haru is right -- trading any of us, even trading all of us, for the chance to start a new generation of humans is more than worth it. If we can actually pull this off and use a Partial to cure RM, we're not just saving Maddy's baby, we;re saving thousands of babies, maybe millions of babies -- every human baby ever born for the rest of time. We're saving our entire species."

This was one of my favourite books of 2012, and I would definitely recommend reading it!

Do you have any hopes, aspirations or resolutions for the new year?

A- Z OF PEOPLE WATCHING: G IS FOR GRIEF

Until a few years ago, I had been lucky enough not to experience a close family death. At least not at an age where I could understand what was happening. 

G is for Grief

Then one night my sister called telling me my grandfather had fallen down the stairs and was in a bad way. I was concerned, but my grandps had always been so strong willed that I expected him to outlive everyone else. Early the next morning I had the call to say he'd passed away. But I just couldn't believe it. It was like he'd gone away and might come back at any time. Being told he was gone wasn't enough for it to fully sink into my brain. Rather than something I could grasp onto, death was the absence of something. Or someone.

The days running up to the funeral blurred into one, filled with endless tasks of cooking, cleaning and sitting around my nan's kitchen table. Anything to pass the time and forget for a short while. During those grey rainy days, whilst I tried to come to terms with what had happened, I also felt a horrible sense of guilt that I wasn't grieving properly. Was I sad enough? Why couldn't I cry? Unlike my other family members who were outwardly expressing their grief, I hadn't seen my grandpy fall, or seen him at the hospital afterwards. I had nothing concrete to attach to the idea that he was gone. I couldn't express something that wasn't real for me. It was only at his funeral as we buried the coffin that things really hit home for me.

Even now, years later, I still miss my gramps. The man who was the life and soul of any party. And who put up with me at age 7 telling him to get changed out of his paint splattered clothes when a 'boyfriend' was coming to visit. The hole that is his absense hasn't gone. It's merely covered over. Like a booby trapped hole in the woods, hidden under a fragile layer of leaves and twigs. You can't see it, but one day when you least expect it, you'll fall in.

In The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss, Kvothe describes four doors to cope with bereavement, which I think we can all relate to in some small way: sleep, forgetting, madness and death.

After my family was killed, I wandered deep into the forest and slept. My body demanded it, and my mind used the first door to dull the pain. The wound was covered until the proper time for healing could come. In self-defense, a good portion of my mind simply stopped working - went to sleep, if you will.
While my mind slept, many painful parts of the previous day were ushered through the second door. Not completely. I did not forget what had happened, but the memory was dulled, as if seen through thick gauze. If I wanted to, I could have brought to memory the faces of the dead, the memories of the man with the black eyes. But I did not want to remember. I pushed those thoughts away and let them gather dust in a seldom-used corner of my mind.
I dreamed, not of blood, glassy eyes, and the smell of burning hair, but of gentler things. And slowly the wound began to grow numb... 

Writing about the death of a loved one, even if fictionalised, can be difficult. And as a reader, the death of a character in a book can also be a big deal. So much so that you can feel some of the grief of losing them. But regardless of how the other characters grieve for the one they've lost - whether they cry, scream or merely carry on like normal - that expression of grief will be as individual as the character and their story. 

Have there been any books that have moved you?

A - Z OF PEOPLE WATCHING: F IS FOR FAMILY

This post could seriously go on forever, because as we all know families can be complex things. You (generally) can't choose your family, and even though they can be frustrating and annoying at times, you can't help but love them. 

F is for Family

I think family is particularly poignant at this time of year, as we flock to our family to exchange gifts, spend some time together, and probably have a bit of an argument too. As I live in London, away from my family in Cardiff, I really miss them. Especially my little nephew Jacob. So for birthdays or major holidays, like Christmas, I always go back to visit. And today I was rewarded with seeing my other half Dani, spend time with Jacob playing some alien-shooting computer game. During their game playing, Jacob turned to Dani to say thank you for playing with him. Dani replied by saying he enjoyed playing games together. And, bless his little heart, Jacob replied with "I love you, I do." Some times just the smallest of gestures or words can mean so much, and often just being around family is enough. Family can reassure us, comfort us in times of need, and make us laugh, or cry. They can be the people we hate most in the world, or the people we would do anything, including die, for.

But however we interact with our family, you cannot deny that they can have a hugely profound impact on who we are. As we grow up they help us learn new things and guide our understanding of the world and the way it works, such as morals or religion. To the same extent, they can also have a negative impact, teaching us bad habits and behaviour. Almost every fictional book will touch on family in some way for these very reasons.

What fascinates me about the YA genre is that more often than not, the protagonist's family is broken up, missing, abusive or dead. There aren't many happy families at the start of a YA story. Is this a reflection on modern family life, or does it make a protagonist's story more difficult and interesting?

But regardless of whether there are family members in the picture they can show us the truth behind a character. Is the protagonist bitter because of their upbringing, spoilt, or loyal? Take The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Anyone who has read or seen The Hunger Games can't deny that Katniss' loyalty and protection of her sister is truly admirable. Katniss doesn't display the same feelings for her mother, but that's because their home life isn't that straightforward.

I was terrified. I suppose that now my mother was locked in some dark world of sadness, but at the time, all I know was that I had lost not only a father, but a mother as well. At eleven years old, with Prim just seven, I took over as head of the family. There was no choice. I bought our food at the market  and cooked it as best I could and tried to keep Prim and myself looking presentable. Because if it had become known that my mother could no longer care for us, the district would have taken us away from her and placed us in the community home. I'd grown up seeing those kids at school. The sadness, the marks of angry hands on their faces, the hopelessness that curled their shoulders forward. I could never let that happen to Prim. Sweet, tiny Prim who cried when I cried before she even knew the reason, who brushed and plaited my mother's hair before we left for school, who still polished my father's shaving mirror each night because he'd hated the layer of coal dust that settled on everything in the Seam. The community home would crush her like a bug. So I kept our predicament a secret.

What does family mean to you? 

A - Z OF PEOPLE WATCHING: E IS FOR EVIL

Due to recent events in America, this post touches on some potentially contentious and sensitive areas. I make no judgment on specific events or people, but merely offer a discourse and discussion. However feel free to make your own opinions and add your comments.

E is for Evil

First off I have to say that evil is a rather vague concept in the sense that it isn't quantifiable. We can measure lots of things - we can count the exact number of eggs in a basket, or measure the height of a bookshelf. But morality doesn't have a measure. Different people might have different moral standards or different understanding of what is right and what is wrong. Different cultures will perceive good and bad behaviour in different ways. Okay, so generally most of us believe killing others would be at the top of a scale of evil. But what if someone kills to protect themselves, for example if their house was being robbed? We would naturally take this to mean that they aren't intrinsically evil just acting out of self defence. They would be considered different from someone who broke into another person's house and killed them.

But in this latter case should we judge the act to be evil or the person who committed it as evil? What if the person committing the crime has mental health problems, such that they can't rationalise their own behaviour? Too often we are quick to judge a person based on the acts they have committed without any understanding of their background, upbringing, psychological wellbeing and so on. A person doesn't exist in a vaccuum. Not only might someone have a genetic predisposition to react in certain ways, but the environment around them will also affect how they think and behave in the future.

There is plenty of research to show that 'villains' are made not born. Children exposed to physical or mental abuse, drug abuse, poverty, alcoholism, or neglect will certainly be affected in adulthood by these experiences. For example, men who were neglected and abused as children have a higher risk of growing up to be abusers themselves. In some cases, the victim can become the villain.

When writing, creating a suitably evil antagonist can be a very difficult task. Based on what I've already said, I think a realistic villain has to have a backstory and some sort of reasoning to why they are the way they are. I'm not sure this happens enough in books though - trying to find a book on my shelves featuring a villain with a past was quite a difficult task. Often, the villains are bad just because they are bad. But I don't think this is sufficient. I want to know the history of the bad guy, I want to hate him and pity him at the same time. I want to understand him (or her).

This is one of the reasons why I love Blackbirds by Chuck Wendig. The characters in this story are gritty and scary. Each of them has an interlude telling their backstory, going some way to explaining their 'breaking' point or past abuses. Trying not to give too many spoilers, this is a snippet of Harriet's story:

He meant for it to hurt. I saw it in his eyes.
I pulled my hand free.
"That settles that," he said.
Then I went into the kitchen.
I went to the blender. It was old, an Oster two-speed with the beehive base and the heavy glass pitcher.
I picked it up by the handle, and I marched back into the living room.
Walter had slumped back down in his chair. He looked up at me as I stood there.
"What are you doing with that?" he asked.
And I bashed it over his head.

The characters created aren't just mean and evil; they are more than that. They felt real and invoked real feelings in me. They made me hate them, feel sorry for them, and what to go back in time to help them. But isn't that what any person is? A complex being with a past, that can elicit strong emotions through their actions and behaviour, whether they are evil or not.

What do you think makes a good book villain?

A - Z OF PEOPLE WATCHING: D IS FOR DESIRE

This week's installment of my quest to delve into the human psyche and behaviour, looks at the exciting emotion of desire.


D is for Desire

Perhaps to some people's delight or to other's disappointment, I'm going to keep this post PG13. It's not that I'm a prude (I could find plenty of lusty examples in my favourite Sookie Stackhouse books), but I want to look at the different ways desire and attraction happens.

When I first saw my current partner Dani, I was walking up the road to the piercing studio. He was stood outside chatting to someone else. In that instant, everyone and everything else disappeared. There was only him. With his wild, long black hair, green eyes surrounded by eyeliner, and tailored black clothes I fell for him instantly. His confident demeanour made me so nervous, and despite offering to hold my hand during the piercing I was too scared that he would notice my sweaty palms to say yes. And whilst having a piercing makes me nervous, it was nothing compared to being in the same room as Dani, this stranger that I wanted to know and wanted to like me. After meeting him that day, I just had to find a reason to go back to the piercing studio to see him again. I even called up to check he was working (of course under the pretence that I wanted to check what time they closed). When I went back a second time, I ended up staying for coffee. I could hardly talk, was ridiculously nervous and I couldn't stop looking at him (and quickly looking away if he looked back at me). I must have looked like a love struck teen. But that was over six years ago.

A wonderful example of instantaneous attraction and longing is from Mystic City by Theo Lawrence. With undercurrents of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet (the ultimate love at first sight story), I can really relate to how Aria feels when she meets Hunter, the mysterious rebel mystic.


He stands. Simply looking at him makes my heart beat faster. I want to stay, but there is nothing that ties him to me. We really are strangers. The thought makes my insides ache.
"Goodbye, Aria," he says, and though he's determined, I can tell he's pained.
I sit still, frozen with sadness. Even though he's telling me goodbye, the way he say my name feels like the warmest hello I've ever received.



Despite these thrilling love at first sight moments where your heart starts pounding in your chest as soon as you meet this other person, it was easier to find examples in YA of desire and romance that grow slowly over time. Perhaps this seems more realistic and believable because you're not just falling for exterior, physical qualities but also for the other person's personality. But there is also a sense of building tension and excitement, and that will-they-won't-they fall for each other question. Slowly blossoming chemistry makes me want to read on, and see what happens.

In Veronica Rossi's Under the Never Sky, I love how Perry and Aria don't get on at all to start. It's only time and getting to know each other better that fuels their feelings for each other little by little.

When they stepped into the close space of the elevator, Aria's scent flooded into his nose, a combination of violets and sweat and pride and power. He felt it all like a surge of strength inside him. He breathed again and soared with his feet on the ground. Perry couldn't stop himself from putting his hand on the small of her back. Told himself he'd do this just once. The he'd stay away.
She looked up at him. Her face was flushed. Strands of her dark hair clung to her sweated neck. Roar was with them, and a good thing too. He'd never been as tempted by her, by the warm muscle he felt behind the palm of his hand.

(Can I just say, the fact that the two examples I wanted to use were of female characters with the same name, was a total coincidence. But somehow poignant.)

When it comes to attraction, there is no right or wrong. Sometimes you fall for someone quickly and the feelings last through thick and thin. Sometimes the attraction is merely temporary and can't be sustained once you find out what that person is really like. And sometimes you don't even realise you're falling for them. But no matter how it happens, attraction and desire is exciting, nerve wracking, thrilling, and just a little bit scary.

Which do you prefer to read about? Instant attraction or slow growing chemistry?

A - Z OF PEOPLE WATCHING: C IS FOR COFFEE SHOPS

This week's installment of my A - Z in human behaviour and people watching, stems from a few too many trips to my local coffee shop. This post is a little different from the previous ones as it's mostly based on my observations in a particular setting, but stick with me. Hopefully you'll find some nugget of truth or inspiration hidden in there somewhere.

C is for Coffee shops

Over the past few weekends whilst I've visited my regularly coffee shop, I've sipped my coffee and nosily watched the other people around me. And I couldn't help but notice particular types of drinkers.

The Techno Single
You'll recognise the techno single by the ubiquitous white headphones, laptop and phone. This drinker will have settled themselves near an electrical socket and most often in the comfiest seat. They will be in for the long haul so don't expect to get that comfy seat from them. They are also very keen to protect the space around them, and will pile their coat and bags up on the surrounding seats to prevent anyone else from getting too close. Despite the long hours they spend in the coffee shop, you'll rarely see a full cup of coffee in front of them. They're far too busy tapping away on their phone or computer to actually get a drink.

The Couple
Particularly prominent in new relationships or younger couples, you'll find these pairs deeply absorbed in each other's words or actions. Leaning over the table towards each other, they'll feed each other food, sip from each other's mugs, and find different ways to touch each other. For the couple, they are happy in their own little world, sharing little smiles between themselves. For the observer, it can be a little sickly sweet. Look at your own peril.

The Friends

The group of friends will create their own little space by pulling chairs or tables together and huddling around. Other members of the group will lean in over their steaming mugs as they listen to the next piece of interesting information from their companion. Volume won't be a concern as they chat, gossip and laugh together, getting increasingly louder as the conversation gets more interesting. 

The Student
Surrounded by books, the student will have their head in their hand as they contemplate the matter before them. They may be scribbling away in a notebook, or staring into space whilst they tap their pen in deep concentration. They'll have the table to themselves and their books, but there won't be a spare chair around them because the group of friends will have already taken them all.


But what does this have to do with writing, I hear you say. Well, to some degree, not much. They're just my observations. But to another degree these small observations can help bring our writing to life.

How many films feature cafe or diner scenes as part of their story? It's actually quite a lot. Think of the opening scene of Pulp Fiction, or Jim Carey's testing of his God-like powers in Bruce Almighty. OK, so these might be rather extreme examples, but even in these seemingly mundane places, things can happen. Unusual events that change the whole story or maybe it's something that just tells us a bit more about the protagonist. Does the hero stare into his coffee because he can't stop thinking about the girl he should have kissed? Are the couple one table over staring at each other shyly because they are on their first date or are they best friends that just haven't admitted their feelings for each other?

When it comes to writing (and acting) even the smallest of things can stick in your mind or make an impact on you. For me, I think Maggie Stiefvater is the perfect author of those random little moments and places. In The Wolves of Mercy Falls series I loved all the intimate and very real moments that Grace and Sam shared, whether it was in the bookstore, car or diner. In this example from Linger, I love how the awkwardness between Sam and Isabel comes across in their behaviour in Kenny's diner.

While she was gone, Isabel and I sat in a kind of uneasy silence filled by a Motown song playing overhead and the clattering of plates in the kitchen. I studied the shape of the salt shaker's warped shadow across the container of sugar packets. Isabel examined the chunky cuff of her sweater and the way it rested on the table. Finally, she said, "You made another bird thing."
I picked up the crane that I'd folded out of my napkin while I was waiting. It was lumpy and imperfect because the napkin hadn't been quite square. "Yeah."

Whilst I may have chosen a rather strange way to do it, the point I'm trying to illustrate is that you can find inspiration anywhere no matter how mundane or unexpected. So when you're next buying a coffee, take a look around and see what is lurking beneath the surface.

But before you go, tell me, which type of coffee drinker are you? :D

A - Z OF PEOPLE WATCHING: B IS FOR BRAVERY

This week's installment of my quest to delve into the human psyche and behaviour, has been a bit of a struggle. I wasn't sure what to pick; should it be Babies, Bullying, or Breakups? I wanted something a little inspiring and positive. So after a lot of indecision, I decided to go with Bravery.

B is for Bravery

When I'm reading, I love the moments where one character nobly sacrifices themselves for another in a grand display of selflessness, fearlessness and love. I can't help but weep at their courage in the face of danger and even death.

Unfortunately I couldn't think of any times I'd seen someone in London do anything remotely brave like this. Rude, obnoxious, selfish - yes. But not brave. And then earlier this week, we were talking in work about violence in the city and some of the awful things that have happened to people on London transport. Then out of the blue, one work colleague talked very openly and candidly about how she had been raped many years ago. I was both shocked and on the verge of tears as she told us that no one would stop to help her after the crime. However she spoke with pride of joining other women in court to help give evidence and put the attackers behind bars. Since that time, she said she made sure she stood for other people when they were in trouble. Her honesty made me appreciate that she hadn't let her attackers torment her after the crime; she didn't feel sorry for herself or and let them keep her down. Instead she picked herself up, got on with her life, and became even more determined to prevent others from suffering at the hands of violence.

Since hearing this story, I've realised that bravery isn't always something you can see. Sometimes bravery is just getting up in the morning and getting on with your life without self pity. But with a fierce determination.

When I think of bravery in books, Neville Longbottom jumps out at me. I still get goosebumps and shivers when I think of Neville in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, and how he stood up to Harry, Ron, and Hermoine. At the risk of losing his friends, he did what he thought was right. It was such a small action, but there so much more behind it: the courage and determination of a rather shy young boy. This small action of Neville's even had a pivotal role in the house competition at the end of the story, showing us just how much little acts of courage can make a big difference.

"There are all kinds of courage," said Dumbledore, smiling. "It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends."

Bravery doesn't have to be something big or grand. It doesn't have to be life-saving. It can be something small, something you believe in. But it should have meaning to the reader, and to you.

What does bravery mean to you?

A - Z OF PEOPLE WATCHING: A IS FOR ANXIETY

Years ago, I took a degree in Psychology because I wanted to learn about human behaviour. However I didn't actually learn how to interpret body language or 'read' what people are thinking. Needless to say I was slightly disappointed by this. In both the areas of my life that I want improve, acting and writing, I want to understand people better. I want to be able to write about the little things that people do, the way that we react in different situations, the habits we display. And I want to find inspiration for my acting.

So this A - Z will be a weekly series of posts exploring human nature and behaviour by looking at everyday emotions, experiences, and situations. It will draw on my observations of other people, my own experiences, snippets from authors that write emotions/behaviour exceptionally well, or just some cathartic rambling. However I do hope you find these posts insightful, amusing or just a little bit interesting.

A is for Anxiety

Anxiety is something that I think everyone can relate to and understand. Whether it is a full blown panic attack, the nerves of talking to a large audience, or butterflies before a big exam, anxiety is something we all experience at some point in our lives.

For me personally, the height of my anxiety levels is on a rush-hour, busy tube. I don't know if it's the claustrophobia of so many people squeezed into one place with arms stretching  and bags poking into my back, the simple lack of fresh oxygen or the terrifying thought of being stuck underground in a cylinder of metal, but my rational mind goes out the tube window. Within minutes my heart rate sky rockets, my breathing becomes shallow and rapid, and my face flushes an unattractive, vivid puce.

The fear that I might be sick is compounded by the butterflies in my stomach, the sweaty palms, the wobble of the tube as it hurtles over the bumpy tracks, and the knowledge that I just can't escape until the next stop. The only way I've found to distract myself during the journey is to play word games in my mind and stop all thoughts from wandering to my own feelings of panic.

So when I reach my stop, I feel a complete and sweet relief as I jump through the tube doors. I can finally take a deep breath and feel my heart start to slow. I have escaped.

Having just finished reading Kendare Blake's amazingly creepy and well written Anna Dressed in Blood, I can't help but be reminded of the tension and anxiety that spilled from the pages. So here is a little snippet that perfectly describes Cas's fear and panic:

"I'd like to leave now. I'd very much like to leave now. The hairs are up on the back of my neck and my teeth would chatter if I wasn't clenching so hard. Given the choice between fight or flight, I would choose to dive out the window, knife in hand or not... After this is over, I might puke. Assuming, of course, that I'm still living."

Does this quote make you as anxious as Cas?
What situations make you nervous or panicky?