Two People, One Thought/Methodists Sing

As a warm-up for a lesson on Vantage Points in my Advanced Fiction class at UC Davis Extension, our teacher asked us to do a quick-write about two people sharing one thought.

This being a quick-write, I didn't have much time to mull over character or subject, so I zeroed in on the funeral I had attended the previous Saturday.

Methodists Sing

The Deacon said, "We Methodists sing."

As compared to whom?  I thought, knowing she meant Catholics like me, who generally prefer to let the choir do the job. 

Heck, I feel sorry for the people sitting next to me in church.  I'm doing my Christian duty by not singing.  You know, love thy neighbor as thyself.  Let the choir members do what they're good at.  Why ruin the experience?

Anyway, I took out the song book and tried to sing Amazing Grace along with the Methodists, but I couldn't reach the high notes with the sopranos or the low notes with the altos.  Only squawks and groans came out.


ruminatriy

I felt Christian love for the people sitting next to me and shut my mouth.

###

She looked over the congregation.  Many strangers in the pews.  Not a surprise.  Funerals were attended by all denominations.  But she felt the urge to tell them, just so they'd know, "We Methodists sing," before the choir broke into Amazing Grace. 

Sure enough, the people in back, Catholics likely, stood, hymnals untouched, lips sealed.

She shrugged.  I'm here to lead souls into heaven, not turn them into singers.

###

karolik

Two characters, from two vantage points.  Two separate consciousnesses narrating the scene.  By exploring a meeting between two characters with different view points, a writer can help the reader see, and hopely understand, something new about the human situation. 

If this were to turn into a story, would the position of the characters change over time?  Would either experience an epiphany?  Or would their viewpoints remain unchanged?  How would the plot unfold?  What would create the tension, the suspense? 

So many possibilities from just a simple quick-write.

Next time you're sitting in a public place, such as an airport, a mall, a restaurant, or an unfamiliar church, try entering the heads of some of the people around you and then imagine what they might be thinking, feeling, experiencing.

Who knows, your imaginings may turn into a short story--even a novel.  If nothing else, it would be an exercise in empathy and understanding, knowing that each person was experiencing a different reality, depending on his or her frame of mind.

You don't have to be a writer to do this, just someone with a little empathy and the imagination and will to put your thoughts on paper.

From this writer to you,