Archetypes

At dawn, whole fields of sunflowers stand at attention, all facing east, and begin their romance with the rising sun. The young flowers follow its light, looking up, turning slowly, then around and westward, catching one final glance as the sun disappears over the horizon. At night, in its absence, the sunflowers face east again, anticipating the sun’s return.

There isn’t a thing that happens in your day that doesn’t offer potential.

Potential that can be both disturbing or soothing. For this moment I choose to see, well I mean who doesn’t see , the stark contrast between the two classic archetypes of our day - Trump and Biden. They could not be more opposite.

Potential because character leads to story. With these two incredibly well defined ‘types’, as the central characters of your story, you can’t fail to engage an audience. How well you define them, how deeply you explore and reveal the inner person within the context of your story, is the challenge for you.

Your stories need not be about politics. They can be about your neighborhood, your co-op building, or the local school board, or two teenage kids vying for attention from the most popular girl or boy in the class.

Potential for story lies in every moment of your day. The flavor in your mouth, the aroma that fills your imagination at any given time. If you leave yourself open you can find a story from the slightest prompt. Seize it. And build…

Simple passing thought - why in autumn do leaves turn into these brilliant shades of orange and red? Grab it. Play with it. in the next second you think - arborist. You have your character. Next thought - the head of the local council is promoting the idea of the need for more direct access to the highway that would cut through acres of forest nearby. Ideas like that, random thoughts, can keep building and before you know it a story begins to emerge.

Think of yourself as a sunflower and your romance with the sun.

Thank you for reading my blog and please leave a Comment. I always look forward to hearing from you. If you would like to develop your work, click on the TUTORING link to read more. Or click on the CONSULTING link to learn more about a one-time script analysis or for periodic consulting on a script you’re working on. Send me a personal message about either, by clicking on the CONTACT link and I’ll get right back to you.

Stay well, stay safe… and stay hopeful.

See you next time.