Do You Listen? Do You Hear? by Darlene Beck Jacobson

 This month's theme of listening gives me a lot of food for thought. As an author trying to create authentic characters and settings, it is imperative to listen. Listening not only to the words our characters say or the sounds we hear with our ears. 

I'm talking about listening to the movements and feelings that course through our own bodies. Telling us what we need, be it food, drink, movement, or rest. Listening to what that food we just ate is saying. Good taste? Bad taste? Do I want more? Does this place I'm in feel safe? When I take a detour and end up in a place I don't recognize, what does that feel like?

Listening to how we feel after kind words, cruel words, angry words are spoken. Tapping into what takes place within ourselves can help us add more truth to what is going on with our characters.

Listening...and then actually hearing and processing what is happening involves so much more than auditory stimulation. Tuning in to ALL our sensory input is one more way to create authentic characters who feel like real people.

 A short meditation:

Imagine yourself standing in this place. Breathe. Quiet. Breathe. Peaceful. Breathe. Serene. Yet...

 No only would you hear the waterfall crashing to earth, you would feel the misty and cool air. Smell the moisture and organic things churned up by the water. How the air seems to vibrate with energy. See water droplets clinging to leaves and maybe even your own skin.

Being in a place like this creates all kinds of feelings when we stop and listen.

Darlene Beck Jacobson finds inspiration is the quiet places around her.