Pickin' up world views an puttin'em in your pocket

Vacation Collectables:
Mug = $8.50
T-Shirt = 19.99

Getting a peek at the world from someone else's eyes = PRICELESS

World View is one major building block that determines the "voice" of you book. Sometimes it's hard to put ourselves in our characters shoes and see the world through a different set of eyes. Vacations are a great way to exercise our ability to see things in a new way.

Heck! We're already out of our comfort zone. These are perfect times to keep our eyes and ears open to the unique phrases and outlooks of those around us.

What's it like to a kid?
An adult?
The people under the umbrella next to you from a different country?
How do they see things differently than you?

Here's an exercise. Think of a character from the book you're writing (or have already written) If they were to see the shells below, what would they look like to that character?

(The shells above, looked like crayons to my four year old)

To my six year old: This Shell became a "seat" for a rubber ball that was washed up on the beach. She named the rubber ball Pearl.

My two year old could have cared less about the shells. She only had eyes for the seagulls and shouted "Want bird! Want catch bird!"

and me: The beach normally relaxes me, but as a mother of 3 young children, the ocean looked menacing; a great animal that could pull my children in and devour them. The beach: A vast expanse full of strangers where my children could wander away and get lost. Even my own world view has changed in light of my current role as mother.

One beach, four different perspectives seen through the eyes of our personal world views. . . .

Which brings to mind another creative exercise for your novel. Find the scenes where you have more than one character in a setting. Does that scene adequately show the varying responses of your characters based upon their personality?

Vacations can be a great place to expand your understanding of how other people see the world. And the best part is . . . . it's a collectible that doesn't need dusting!