Experiences

So, this weekend was fabulous. It brought about the culmination of several things I've been looking forward to for a long time.

First, on Friday night, we celebrated my in-laws 50th wedding anniversary. We've been planning this for almost a year now, and the event was everything we wanted it to be and more. The night couldn't have been more prefect if we had scripted the entire thing.

Secondly, NEW MOON finally came out. The long awaited next installment in the Twilight saga hit theaters on Friday. If you've read my blog before, you are familiar with my obssession. My girlfriends and I went twice...yesterday. We hit a ten o'clock show in the morning and then an 8 o'clock show later that evening.

The movie was fantastic...again, the build up and hype definitely lived up to the real thing. But the two movie-watching experiences were very different. The morning showing had an atmosphere of excitment that was palpable. The viewers really got into the story...you could almost feel the tension, feel the emotion at certain times during the movie. The evening crowd however, was completely different. This crowd was made up of mostly teenagers, which made the experience an interesting one. There were screams and shouts when the wolf-pack stripped off their shirts. There was laughter during some of the more emotional scenes. The crowd had a very "Team Jacob" feel to it, which was "difficult" for those of us in the audience who are definitely and wholey committed to "Team Edward". I was really glad we had chosen the morning showing to be our first experience with seeing the movie.

But it got me to thinking. What goes on around us shapes the way we experience things. Watching a movie, reading a book, even creating a scrapbook. When I'm reading a book, if I'm out on the porch with a glass of lemonade on a hot July day, is my experience different than if I were curled up in front of the fire with a cup of hot tea in January? If I'm reading on a crowded plane, am I experiencing the book differently than if I were curled up in my recliner at home?

When I look through the scrapbooks I've created over the years, there are some pages that evoke not only the memory of the event being preserved, but the memory of where I was and who I was with when I created it. And music can really call to mind memories of times gone by.

Our experiences shape us. In writing, our characters have those life-changing experiences as well. It's up to us as the authors, to make those experiences as real and authentic as possible, perhaps even taking note from our own real-life experiences.

So, go out today, and experience something. You'll be glad you did!

Until next time,

Happy Reading!

Debra

www.debrastjohnromance.com