Teachers Write Week Two

Today's writing prompt can be found here.  I loved what we had to do today.  It gave me a look at another side to my main character.  I think we often look at the conflicts through one lens and we need to find multiple lenses to see them through.  This gives us a well rounded character.  I think I will need to do this exercise with many other lenses to see what else I can learn about my characters.  Here is what I learned abut Jacob today.

1.      Jacob is a PK, also known as a preacher’s kid.  He has to live up to what he feels is an unrealistic set of standards that his dad has created because he is a preacher.

2.       Jacob loved his grandmother’s garden.  She had a rock path laid out that wound throughout the garden.  She not only had a green thumb but was very creative, for inside her garden was an area she had created just for her grandchildren.  Jacob found himself hiding under one of her mushroom sculptures.  His back leaned against the stem.  It was hidden from site by a large purple lilac bush.  Its fragrant flowers sent a shower of petals raining down on him when the wind blew.  Here he would watch the bees flit in and out taking what they needed from the flowers. He watched the viceroy butterflies with their orange and black wings flutter around.  He often wished he could be like them and fly away.  It usually only took five or ten minutes in the garden to wash away the dark clouds that he felt followed him constantly.  He stood and looked up at the sun drenched blue sky and walked toward the house for the snack he knew his grandmother had waiting for him.

3.       Jacob thought back to being a child when he first began to understand his dad’s standards for his life.  He decided he needed to visit his grandmother before the move.  He called her and told her he was on his way.  Jacob rode his bike the few blocks to her house. He knew the garden would not look the same. March was still cold, but he could see signs of life creeping to the surface of the garden. He walked the path carefully looking at each stone his grandmother had placed there.  He realized he had never noticed the words on them before.  Words such as breathe, relax, inhale, life, sunshine.  He realized they were there to help bring about a  peace of mind, a calming to the soul. He walked to the lilac bush and was met by his grandmother.  She handed him a cup of coffee. She smiled and spoke softly to Jacob. “This is where I always came to calm my spirit.   It’s not easy living with a preacher.”