Thursday, April 7, 2011

Eat, Drink and Be Character

Want a bit of insight into your character's world, try eating food they would eat.  Really.  This is such a simple, yet fun way to uncover your character's tastes (literally). 

When we were doing Frankenstein, Flip - my husband - and I, dined on sauerkraut and sausages, we drank everything - including milk - out of beer steins.  It was an awesome way to get into character - before we started writing.  Oh and we had a blast sampling French pastries and Yule logs when we wrote BEAUTY AND THE BEAST.  

What if your character is from another planet?  No worries mate.  With a little imagination and a lot of food coloring, you can be dining offworld in no time.

With all the fears of obesity and heart disease and such, food has become the enemy.  It makes us fat.  It makes us sick.  But eating can be a gift if we treat it such.  It can be a simple ticket to new worlds right in our little corner.  Think about it.  When was the last time you went to an Indian restaurant or Thai or American and ordered something different? 

Come to think of it, I've never tasted green tea ice cream.  Just always seemed to me that green tea and sweet cream didn't go together.  But the next time I'm having a sushi fix, I'm gonna try it.  From there, who knows?  The world could be my oyster (no pun intended)