Call Me Sporty

Bill and I were watching the House Hunters show last night. It featured a women from the US who was relocating to the UK and buying a house in a desirable area of London. She looked to be in her late forties or early fifties. The British real estate agent summed the woman up by calling her sporty. 

According to Vocabulary.com, 

"You are sporty if you love sports, dress like you love sports, or behave like a good sport by saying “good game” even when you lose. Sporty can also describe something fast and flashy, like a sporty red convertible." 

I meet EVERY aspect of this definition, although my love of sports is highly selective. Think REI versus Dick's. I love fast cars and flashy colors, too. I rather like the idea of being called sporty and hereby encourage you so refer to me this way.

That Lisa, she's sporty.

Lisa is a sporty one, isn't she?

Might not be the most elegant lady but she sure is sporty.

Take your pick. And I'm definitely making one of my future characters sporty. She might dress like this stock photo lady (from Canva).

Our History Informs Our Nature - Writing Multidimensional Characters

I love this blog post by Linda Rodriguez over at the Writers Who Kill blog about the importance of tapping into our history as writers and, I've interpreted, telling the readers about our characters' histories and the culture(s) within which the story exists. Here's the money quote from Linda's post:

"Everyone comes from somewhere. Perhaps from an urban slum, perhaps from a pristine upscale suburb, perhaps from an up-and-down series of foster homes, perhaps from great wealth or poverty or anything in between. Everyone comes from some place, some culture, some family. Somewhere where people talk and think a certain way and hold certain expectations. Too many otherwise good manuscripts, however, exist in limbo, in a cultural vacuum."

I could not agree more and it's worth reading the entire post here.

If I'm honest, this is a weakness for me. Perhaps because I don't have a strong grasp of my own history and culture. I was born in Canada and that's where my extended family still lives. But I moved with my parents and siblings to Florida when I was five years old. I've not met most of my cousins and I don't remember much about those who I did know. I don't feel connected to my hometown. Sure, even that history informs my writing, and I certainly could have done more to learn about and get connected to my roots.

But this is not an excuse, and I'll work on tapping into where I come from and adding the depth of character and culture good stories need in my next project.