In my July 5 article entitled "Skyward," I reminisced about my childhood birthday when my oldest brother took me to see the 4th of July fireworks and taught me the spectacle of light, color and sound was in honor of my birth. A girl doesn't forget such a thing!
Well, my brother chimed in and filled in my recollections with the following details:
"That patch of grass was in Cold Spring Park, Woonsocket, RI—in back of the Basketball and Tennis Courts. Roughly, 2 miles / 3 km. By taking the railroad tracks, the trip took about 20-25 minutes. A little longer going back, because we stopped at a variety store to buy a bag of vinegar potato chips."
–My Big Brother
A fun fact about me—since I was a wee girl I've loved vinegar chips. To add to that, when we first moved from Massachusetts to Minnesota in 1973, these salty and tart, crisp treats were not sold anywhere. My brother who was married and lived in Rhode Island remained there, and being the cool big brother that he is, would ship the coveted chips to me.
Back to my July post—while my brother had to fill in some of the missing details of that precious birthday memory, what I said in "Skyward" still remails true: "What never escapes us is how the event caused us to feel. We fully remember the poignancy, the happiness, or the sadness without regard to what our mind fills in to complete the recollection."
How Emotions and Memories Influence the Fiction Writer
As a writer, my memories and emotions influence my fiction. What's more, I liken being a fiction writer to being a method actor. Not only do I have to embody the emotion, I have to reach back into my memories and elicit what it felt like to be angry or sad or filled with unmitigated joy. I also have to take into consideration, each characters learned behaviors, their personality, and have them react to a situation in a way that is authentic to them.
This means not only diving into my own emotions. It also means being somewhat of a psychologist in a way by not only embodying the emotions and reactions of the point of view character but also by understanding how circumstances influence their reactions.
Below is an excerpt from The Passenger where Giovanni Clemente recalls a memory that has influenced his desire to avoid any chance of anyone hurting him:
Of all the people in the world, Adriana Clemente didn’t deserve to be hurt again by anyone. Gio lost himself in his memories. Again, he was five years old, and his mother was drawing him onto her lap. Her perfume enveloped him in a cloud of chamomile and summer air.
“Gio, your father was a good man and so handsome.” Gio stared down into her lap, knowing she’d cry. She always cried when she talked of his poppa. He concentrated on the front panel of her blue-checkered dress.
“You are going to look like him, I can tell,” she said, her voice breaking. “You will be a good man like him.” Two tears dropped to her bosom, darkening the light blue material.
“I hate him, Momma.” He bunched his small fist. A good poppa would not leave a momma and little boy all alone.
“Oh, my bambino.” She wrapped her arms around him, gathering him in. “It is hard for someone so small to understand. But when you are a man—when you are a man, you will.”
He wouldn’t. He’d never understand why a man would make his mother cry.
Even when he’d grown up, he’d still catch his mother lost in her memories. She’d sit on the front porch, staring at the vineyard’s entrance as if watching for his father to walk down the road. After all this time, she still loved him, but Gio didn’t love Paolo Clemente at all. The man was a stranger.
The Journey is underway!
The Passenger launched on August 21, 2024. With it, came a brand new trailer. If you haven't watched already, you can view it here.
Until next time,
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About the Author
Minnesota-based author, Joie Lesin is a life-long fiction writer and the author of The Passenger. She has long been fascinated by anything otherworldly including ghosts. She loves to write a good ghost story—especially when it includes a touch of romance.
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