Playing Barbies

I had a strange realization today. When I was little, my favourite toys were Barbies dolls. I loved to decide the type of person my barbie was, or to have some end goal with little goals along the way--a story progression. As I got older, I played less, but the stories were generally more complex, more 'scripted' (anyone who played with me may tell you). As I hit my tween years, I played less often, but still thought a lot about stories I could do, and would take out the barbies to have them play out. I think I was 13 when I really stopped playing. When I tried, I often made it so elaborate, that, by the time I got all the 'sets' in place, I was over it. By 14, I was done with it--I was ready for slightly more grown up things, like video games--the Sims to be exact.

That's right, folks! A game where you choose how you want your person to be, then create their story as you go. I literally transitioned seamlessly from barbies to digital barbies.....and have never stopped.

As I've been writing up this little story, I've been thinking about why that is, what it can mean, and if there's a productive way to use this realization. I think there are some interesting things to be said, and some potentially useful things to do with it.

First, am am driven by plot, even in my own life. I want to decide where to go, so I can set up goals/things that need to be done, and get to that end point (not the end of my life...just reaching the goal). Not super useful, but interesting.

Second--wow. Here I am, shy and introverted, thinking that I don't like people. In all fairness, I love those I love. I keep them very close, and think of them often, and want to hang out with them, and help them in any way they could use. However, everyone else...nope. How is this productive or useful? Well, if my play is any indicator, I love to love people, and I want to know about them. It just has to happen over a series of events, etc.

Third--and I think I shall stop my list here--I notice people I start to care for. I revel in their individuality. How neat can people be? I love to know what sets them apart, and understand what drives them.

Conclusion? If I can have this much passion about people, and such a strong, driving interest in telling the stories of people--not just the stories--then I may have a better idea of how to approach my writing, as well as what works best for me. I've always thought that I needed to come up with the stories, because, what do I know of people? Well, it turns out, that is actually what I gravitate towards--interesting characters.

I'm filled with happiness (sounds lame, but it's true) when I see a film where I can feel the love the screenwriters have for their characters, and the care with which they told their story. Plot is vital...but I'm alright with just seeing the people. In the last year, there have been several films that were more character-centric that I really enjoyed, or there were characters where I walked out say, "I would literally watch a film of just them being them".

This gives me some confidence--I've always wondered how to bring characters to life. I've written a couple stories where I love the characters, but can I do it more constantly? I hope so. I think so. They're like everyone else--get to know them, and you can see what makes them so wonderful and lovely. It's just like playing barbies.