Personal Experiences that Trigger Storytelling

Observations & personal experiences that influenced the themes in Renee Coloman's award-winning book, Born of Dirt & Dust, and how they shaped the characters and stories.

I have an affinity for making new friends who, moments prior to saying hello, see me as a complete stranger. A random person striking a conversation while standing in line at the grocery store, or casually strolling at the park with my two pugs leading the way, or sitting in a chair waiting for my car's oil change or tire rotation. To me, it's odd not to acknowledge the person nearby. So, of course, I have say hello and ask a fun question to get the momentum started and hear the bubbly stories my new friends share.

Other times, I simply tune in to my favorite news stories on CBS or PBS NewsHour, especially while driving around town behind the wheel of my pug-mobile, a Subaru. Either way, listening to these podcasts or meeting new friends in person, these conversations often trigger character observations that influence my genre-bending fictional stories.

In my recent book, Born of Dirt & Dust, there are two short stories in the collection that specifically focus on the young life of a boy. Henry Didn't Have A Chance, and Stuck at a Dead End. The premise behind the stories came to me from articles I heard on PBS NewsHour while driving on the 405 Freeway at a very slow pace.

Henry Didn't Have A Chance is about a toddler boy who died at a very young age. Local authorities arrested his mother and her boyfriend on suspicion of murder. The podcast didn't go into details about Henry's death, but the information I heard ignited my imagination, and not in a pleasant way but with more of a heart-wrenching twist. An empathetic understanding for both Henry and his mother.

Here's an excerpt from the story:

His mother had a history. The kind of past that destroys a boy like Henry. Maybe he shouldn't have played too much. Smiled too much. Asked too many questions that a curious child often mumbled when poking a finger at the grass.

& seeing a cluster of ants.

& watching a Monarch butterfly glide away, up and up into the promising sky.

Maybe Henry should have been the kind of boy his mother could box and shelve and tuck inside the closet when she didn't want to play. When stress and frustration overwhelmed her, forcing her to close the curtains and lie down on the bed and shut, shut her eyes.

Stuck at a Dead End came alive in my mind after listening to a documentary about children of parents who served in the military and returned home with PTSD---how the traumatic affliction affected their children.

Here's an excerpt from Stuck at a Dead End:

Dad's not doing so good. Three days ago, I found him in the darkness of his bedroom closet. Beneath the dry-cleaning bags hanging from the rack, stuffed with his tan and brown uniforms, mixed in with my mother's linen pants and her colorful rayon blouses---work clothes she hasn't worn since Dad returned home a month ago.

... Mom said my father saw terrible things that aren't easy to forget.

... Laney's been dragging herself around the house.

... She asked me what I thought about tying a belt around my neck. Asked what it must feel like---the thing that Dad did before Mom could stop him.

In writing the stories for Born of Dirt & Dust, I wanted to open a lens for readers to fully experience the characters' world, how trapped they felt, how they chose to move forward, and the ripple effect of those choices.

As human beings, we are connected in so many ways. I truly believe that every action and every reaction triggers a ripple effect that touches each of us. Most often in a very miniscule, microcosmic way. Yet it breathes upon us. A tiny molecule. It hits us. No matter how quickly we tend to forget.

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