Thursday, June 26, 2008

People Like to Talk

I'm a quiet person, by nature. A bit shy. Very introverted. Polite.

Until you get to know me, of course. But that's a seperate issue.

But one of the things I've been noticing lately is that people like to talk. To me, often. I'm about as good at making small talk as I am at NOT supergluing my fingers together during a repair. (Still batting a thousand...) But I'm polite, and I have a few stock lines and questions I can ask out of politeness. It's not that I don't want to get to know people, often, I'm just disinterested. Espcially at work-- I go there to do my job and go home.

Though, if I appear interested and receptive, people will talk. About all sorts of things, actually. Being a writer, I'm not wholly against this because it's like eavesdropping out in the open or spying on the neighbors without worrying they might notice the gap in the curtain. If I did those sort of things... ;-)


I love to watch people. And hear things. I live a very boring life, really, so I live vicariously through fiction and through other people. Since many people seem to love sharing their tales, it seems to work out.

The only problem is sometimes, I don't want to listen. Or maybe they invade my personal space.
Oh man, what I would give to have spikes!

And the other interesting thing is that most people don't ask about me. I don't really mind because, in addition to being a quiet person, I'm a fairly private person.

At least I get all sorts of ideas for characters and conflicts and such from the things people have told me. My favorites, though, are the stories that involve sex. I'm naughty that way. ;-)

Shit, look at the stuff I write!



3 comments:

Travis Erwin said...

I'm just the opposite. I will go out of my way to talk to anybody, anywhere, at anytime. My wife likes to say, I thought writers were supposed to be anti-social.

Clair D. said...

We are! Though, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that the big burly guy who writes women's fiction doesn't fit the antisocial mold, either. =)

Barbara Martin said...

I used to be quite reserved, observing people rather than speaking to them. Now, however, I've found that by speaking to strangers on the street, or on the streetcar it's interesting to hear what they have to say about any particular thing. And, sometimes, these comments end up in my stories.