I’m a runner. I train and train and train, mostly on trails in the birch-covered hills of interior Alaska. The marathon is my favorite race. Long distance just seems to suit me. When I run in bear country I carry pepper spray. And yes, I’ve seen a bear or two when I’ve been out running. And, I’ve been turned in my tracks by moose countless times.
But the most exciting run I’ve ever had was on the streets of New York.
I couple years ago my wife, Dana and I were in NYC for a conference. Her employer had sent her to the NCTE Conference and I had come along to attend the ALAN Conference—the Candy Land of YA. If you’ve been to ALAN you know what I’m talking about. If you haven’t and you’re into YA you’ve got to check it out. I’ve attended five times.
But back to the run. We’d just gotten out of a taxi on the Upper East Side. We’d taken it across the park in the dark.
“Did you get a receipt?” I asked. That was one of my jobs. To make sure the absent-minded professor got the proper documentation for her trip. The cab was still curbside so Dana opened the door, got a receipt, then turned to me and said, “Thanks.”
I nodded to Dana as I watched the cab’s service light go dark. Then it cruised down the Avenue and made a right turn. I’m not sure why I was watching that cab but I was. Then I saw Dana reach for her back pocket to pull her wallet out to tuck the receipt away.
She came up empty handed. “My wallet, it’s gone. Must be in the taxi.”
I abandoned her in a dead sprint. And no, I didn’t have my running shoes on. I had these ancient beauties on instead.
By the time I reached the corner my lungs were burning. At the far end of the block I saw half a dozen taxis stopped at a red light. I picked up the pace, my eyes focused on the closest one. Yes, its service light was off.
Focus. Focus. Focus. Arms pumping. Legs churning as fast as I could make them. Luckily there were only a few pedestrians to dodge as the heels of my black dress shoes clicked on the sidewalk.
The traffic light turned green. I skidded to a stop next to the cab, knocked on the back window and then opened the door. I had no idea what this guy would think. Did cabbies carry weapons? I didn’t know.
“My wife,” I spit out between breaths, “dropped her wallet in the backseat.” I sucked more air. The driver just nodded, which I took as a sign that it was okay to search the seat. There in the far corner a rectangular cloth trophy bumped up from the vinyl.
“Thanks,” I said.
The driver shook his head. “You’re lucky. She never would’ve seen that again.”
My heart pounded through my sweater and my toes burned with hot spots as a walked back down the street. How far had I sprinted? I didn’t know. Maybe a couple hundred yards. A quarter mile at the most. Far enough and hard enough that whoever sat next to me at dinner would need a clothespin for their nose.
Your characters have traits. Maybe you’ve even written a bit of back-story about them to better understand who they are. I do that. Often it’s just a few pages; some of it ends up eye-droppered into the story and some of it is just for me.
Take a close look at your main character’s traits. Can you work into your story some unexpected but logical way for your character to take action? Can your character put a skill to use in a setting or situation where it’d be unexpected?
Can a mid-forties trail runner from Alaska wearing dress shoes he purchased in high school chase down a taxi cab with his wife’s wallet in it at night in New York City?
Unexpected but logical. That’s one of my writing mantras.
Paul, you are a true hero, way to save the day! I bet your wife is glad she brought you along!
Great reminder about using action that matches our characters’ talents. Two things I loathe when reading fiction are stories where nothing happens or stories where there is unnecessary or unbelievable action.
I love that, Paul! Take their traits and see what they do in a foreign situation. I love it! Totally going to play with that today. 🙂
My husband is a marathon runner. It amazes me.
I find that – when the voice of the piece I am working on is stilted or off – it us usually due to the fact that I haven’t flushed out my characters enough. So, I go back and work on their character sketch a bit more until I better understand them.
And, I like your concept of unexpected but logical. That makes for good reading 🙂
LOVE this!!!! A lot of times my characters are gamblers or they were raised by gamblers or criminals . . . so they can spot people’s “tells”–what they do when they lie. It’s a trait I have . . . and I like giving it to my characters . . . the back story or learning craps or cards as a kid will seem incidental . . . but then it comes in handy.
What a fantastic story! I am working on character sketches right now for my new WIP. I think my voice comes out better when I really know the characters I’m writing about.
I love this post! I just wrote in a character quirk where my MC looks straight at people when she is lying.
I got to write it in through dialogue between two other characters who are in a conflict with each other. The knowledge of one character knowing the other better was a delicious way of establishing all sorts of conflict. I was very proud of myself. It’s all like a great big word puzzle, isn’t’ it!
Very interesting post. As a reader, the quirky parts of the characters are typically my favorite parts of the read. As a writer, developing the character/s always fascinates me. What power we writers have!!!
This was a great post. I loved the pictures to go along with the anecdote.
I have left things behind myself. One time I’d accidentally left my keys on a city bus after returning from work. I’d gotten off the bus and then walked over to my car in the parking lot. It was dark outside and I really wanted to go home. Checked my pocketbook, no keys. I saw the bus getting ready to go back to the bus station. Did some sprinting myself to stop the driver from leaving. I made it in time and yes, I’d left my keys on the seat!
Paul–I like this story. I am jealous of your normal running haunts. I love to run in nature (I generally try to trail run since I get shin splints on the roads). Sadly, we don’t have a ton of trails here. Great job with the wallet. I can picture the whole thing!
That reminds of the time I was at the beach and the wind started blowing my kid’s beach ball away. I sprinted after it barefoot. With a 20mph tailwind I probably covered half a mile in 3 minutes. The ball finally lodged under a car so I didn’t have to run the whole beach.
For my NaNoWriMo story, my character is about to make a bad choice when she discovers a calliope sitting in the corner…which of course she knows how play. (it’s a steam whistle organ…it’s what makes those carnival music sounds)
Great post! I love the image of you running down the streets of NYC chasing down a cab. I’m working on all these character issues with my rewrites. This post has been helpful. Thanks.
Wow, what a great story! And I’m definitely going to have to make it to NYC one of these days for that conference…
I love this post. Unexpected but logical. Great thought. I write info about my characters, but I love having my characters write me a letter. It’s fun to read and very revealing. Thanks for such a great post. Oh and I want to make it to that conference one day too. Maybe I’ll see you there. You WILL be the one chasing the cab won’t you? 🙂
What a fun post. Good advice too!
Are you on submission yet?
Not yet, Lisa. But soon!