Fodder for an Author

Fodder for an Author
Jimmy Root, Jr.
Author of Distant Thunder: Book One of the Lightning Chronicles

For the storyteller, inspiration sometimes comes in unlooked for places and unexpected moments. Usable anecdotes and ideas for building true to life characters can happen just about anywhere. I have found it pays to keep my eyes open and with the intent of looking beyond the surface of what I see.

One type of epiphany comes in the form of a flash, the spur of the moment. For instance, inspiration came as I was brushing off a freshly formed cobweb from my dining room window one morning. I wasn’t thinking about much beyond getting my first cup of coffee and checking out the early news when a white flash in the back yard caught my attention. It was our young Jack Russell Terrier named Harley, and he was worked up into a frenzy. That’s a normal state for Harley and most Jack Russells, no matter what a dog whisperer might claim. But there was something different about the way he was running and throwing himself into the air. It appeared as if he were trying to get away from a swarm of bees, but it was something else, and it kept me from continuing on toward the coffee pot.

A brown, furry clump had attached itself to Harley’s head and was hanging on for dear life. I could see the whites of the little creature’s eyes, its mouth wide open in a silent scream. Its long tail wound all the way down and into Harley’s mouth. The scene was hilarious. He’d evidently caught the little rodent encroaching in his sacred territory and had grabbed it by the tail. Harley has hated squirrels ever since. I took all of three days to fit that story into a sermon portraying a life principle about how to properly treat our neighbors.

Another type of inspiration comes a bit slower, something that happens when an author takes what he sees then begins to ask questions that go beyond the surface. An example of this took place just the other day as I drove through South Carolina on an out-of-the-way route. The scenery had been pretty much the same through northern Florida and Georgia, but I’d noticed that the signage marking county roads had changed. One particular road was named “Lucas Ferry Road,” and riding off the highway onto it was an old African American man on a bicycle. Though I was driving down highway 17 at sixty miles an hour, something about what I’d just seen grabbed my attention. A story formed. Let me share it in its primitive form.

“The dust rolling up from behind Ed’s tires was beginning to clot in the back of his throat. He wanted to spit, but the sweltering heat had drained his body of any extra moisture. Worse, Ed was still six miles from Lucas Ferry, and then he’d have sixty yards of hauling to do before he reached the other side. But he wasn’t discouraged for he knew his wife Martha would be waiting at the door with a tall glass of lemonade and a kiss.”

That thought took place from one quick glance at a man riding up a country road in South Carolina. How much more could be developed by simply asking deeper questions about what I’d seen?

Both processes were implemented in the writing of Distant Thunder. Sideways glances at interesting personalities opened a world of depth in the characters. It worked the same for the settings I developed. I call it inspiration. Others may call it something else. All I know is it worked, and Distant Thunder is richer because of the process.


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