Snow Day!

My little corner of the world got hit with a pretty awesome storm system last night and into today. It is one of the biggest blizzards in recent memory,with over a foot of snow and wind gusts up to 50 mph. To give a little perspective to how bad it is, all schools are closed, the college is closed, all of the city offices are closed, they are only plowing emergency snow routes, the interstate is closed... and most surprising, Walmart is closed. It's kind of a big deal.

My front door, Monday at noon with no snow.

My back yard, Tuesday at noon with 12 inches of snow and counting.

And of course it happened on my day off. Which I'm not too upset about. I get a snow day without losing pay so that's a bonus. Plus, my roommates are snowed in with me which means Harry Potter marathon!

Which also means that I have been staring at a my computer screen trying to write in between cruising Facebook and watching movies.

In the midst of this, I have been keeping an eye on the local exchange group and the official city Facebook page and I was incredibly heartened to see how willing my neighbors are to help each other. People were offering to give free rides to nurses and emergency personnel who needed to get to work, a local coffee shop was offering free coffee all night for emergency personnel and anybody out plowing the streets, people were volunteering to scoop out drive ways and blow out sidewalks, and many people were posting humorous videos or pictures to lighten up the situation. One person even posted a picture advertising "Free Snow, You Haul."

It makes me enjoy the earthy, caring people I live around.

It also brings to mind an important part of being a writer, or any kind of artist, really.

We create stories about humanity. We have to be able to understand all sides of humans, both good and bad, in order to create well-rounded and real characters. To do this, we have to watch the people around us. Our greatest teacher about humanity is humanity itself. Sometimes, all we see is the dark, the evil, but other times, we see the good and the wonderful. Extreme situations seem to bring out the best and the worst in us.

If you are struggling with creating a character who is real, look at how real humans react in a similar situation. Heck, even Facebook can help with that. Humans are alike, no matter where they are in the world. They are capable of great compassion and great hate. Remember that when you wonder what a character would do in a situation. Think through all of the different reactions a person could have and see which one fits the character the most. They could really go either way, it is up to you to decide what kind of person they will be.

Or your character may surprise you. They may make their own path and just drag you along for the ride.