Onions and Characters
a2z: the Letter “O”
O is the challenge letter this week and it caused me to cry.
I chose onion as my ‘O’ word.
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| Red Onion Smiling |
In college my philosophy instructor gave us an assignment to write about an onion. Being me at the very wise age of 19 thought that was a dumb exercise and forgot to do it.
I’m older and a bit smarter now. So here’s my homework Mr. Landers.
Onions can be compared to characters or people–your choice.
The first papery layer of an onion is almost transparent, but it’s tough. You need a knife to get through it.
.JPG "onion skin") |
| peek a boo |
Characters are like that holding their secrets tight.They are never what you think they are when you first meet them. While I don’t need a knife to get past that first layer, I do need to poke and pry.
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| Make me Cry, Onion |
Inside the onion you can see all the layers, some thicker than others, and right there in the middle is the heart of the onion. Once I get to this part of dismantling an onion I’m in tears.
My characters have layers too. Some of them are fun to explore, some are not. In a Bride’s Dilemma in Friendship, Tennesse I discovered how afraid Heaven was for her sister.
In Hearts on the Road, Randi Davis had a layer of insecruity to share with me.
When I got to the heart of Jazz Sweet in Mind of Her Own (coming out in January!) I cried when I learned her secret.
Next time you use an onion think about the book you are reading. How many layers to the character have you found?
Oh and I’m not wasteful. I’m using that onion in this recipe, Slow Roasted Country Ribs from Mr. Foods.
Diana
Here’s the code for the letter L: