Walking down the narrow path walk, a woman was few steps ahead of me conversing er, quarreling with someone.over the phone.
Overheard conversations:
Woman: Never again. I won’t let you do it for the third time.
Man: But… you’ve just said you love me.
Woman: Yes, but loving myself more is better than loving a man like you.
Man: Then, why are you calling me this very hour, you knew very well that I am busy.
Woman: Busy with what?
Man: Work.
Woman: It’s Sunday!
Man: Oh.
Silence. Something I feared that time might happen. For the storm was brewing.
Woman: What a flimsy excuse. How could you lie to me like that? You’re busy womanizing.
Had just passed by her few steps away when, to my great surprise, she threw the phone few steps to where am heading. It shattered to pieces.
What if I accidentally stepped onto the cellphone shattered pieces, and got myself hurt from what she did?
What if an innocent kid got hurt from such?
What if… too many possible scenarios. Yes, a writer like me has this fondness to playing what-if every time there is a chance to. For, the ambient or setting, action-reaction of people or what around can be a great story gem need polishing, good insinuating incident to my soon to be written novel and slated to be published this coming year.
Well, I was in awe to the gentleman who chose to pick those destroyed cellphone and returned it to the woman who had just raised hackles at that time.
Yes, endless is the possibilities of getting ideas out of daily people-watching while you’re also busy on things adulting. We are, oftentimes, being side-tracked with different stimuli around; yes, almost all our scenes or dialogues were products of overheard conversations, seen movements of people doing daily grind, and the like.
Making this people-watching as one way toward getting gem for a story or what, the easier the journey becomes toward fleshing out a character, dressing up a scene, and giving thought-provoking statement to the readers who are open to absorb wisdom from all corners of the book, either in printed or e-book form.
I did not give longer attention for I was preoccupied with other matters like having to feel the ambience of being surrounded with different faces, reactions, due to different motives, either eking out a living wishing such could have been given to them instead of throwing it away, or just passing time waiting for someone, hours before dawn.
With the different thought popping up my mind, say possible cliffhanger to a given chapter need to be written when I am home, the conflict needed for a scene where the protagonist has to confront the antagonist, things like that.
A writer’s mind is full of characters competing for attention. So when you see me unmindful of the ambience around, well, am between characters shouting at me at length for a chance to grace one of my future novels.. Don’t bother bothering me.
Yes, a writer is a slave of his characters vying for attention and all. Please don’t compete with them. Just kidding.
