I love farmers markets! Love working them, love talking to people, just love the whole atmosphere of it all. A market is a community of sorts. The vendors all know each other, and you get to know regular customers by name, and it’s just a very cool scene to be in on a nice summer’s day.
Amanda and her husband just purchased a home and they move in August 1st. She is quite excited about it. Brenda tasted our goat cheese for the first time and said we should rename it “OH MY GOD!” Bob’s daughter is going into first grade next year and he’s one proud father. Olivia is on vacation in Atlanta to see relatives. An old friend of mine, someone I haven’t seen in 35 years, stopped by and spent some time with me at the market last week. It was great to see him. Bev is doing what Bev does best, making people feel welcomed, making people feel as though they matter, and they all love her for it. Anthony’s daughter played music for four hours, non-stop, guitar and piano, just winging it song after song after song, a twenty-something young woman with the talent of five people. The local fire crew stopped by and supported us; I gave them some free cheese in appreciation for the work they do.
And so it goes, week after week, new friends, old friends, people being people, laughing, supporting, interacting, one big extended happy family, just one small event in one small town in the United States, Tumwater, Washington, a dot on the roadmap of life, but oh, so important.
These are the people we novelists write about. These are the people you non-fiction writers write to.
I can’t say this enough: writers need to interact with the public. We are the storytellers of our generation, and the public is our audience and, quite often, the inspiration for our stories.
IT’S IN MY BLOOD
Not really, but I do come from farming stock, Iowa to be specific, corn farmers, hard-working people who believed in community and believed in the importance of local farms and buying locally. I love the tradition and perhaps that is why I love the markets so much . . . but the other part is . . . I just like people. Oh sure, they can drive me nuts from time to time, but generally speaking I do love them. People are fascinating, and community is important, and I can’t imagine anywhere I would rather be on a summer afternoon than working our booth in Tumwater.
Who knows? Maybe a few of my customers will be characters in my next book.
I’ve rambled on long enough. I think you get the point I’m making. We writers do not live in a vacuum. If you want your characters to come alive on the page, you will eventually have to meet an actual human being.
Get out there and mingle!
Bill
“Helping writers to spread their wings and fly.”
Billybuc
Artistry With Words 