When memory is focused on place it has the potential to
thread several character and plot threads throughout the story. As with Amy
Cantrell, in Bridging Two Hearts by
Michelle Ule, she has clear insight as to the emotional pain causing her
practical dilemma. However she assumes she can tough out the situation without
actually addressing the heart issue. She keeps attacking and failing. Until she
stands still from the memory and then the extraordinary happens.
For Central Park
Rendezvous, the memory of place threads through multiple stories and
several characters weaving a variety of awareness depending on the narrator. As
the letters work back in time, the gaze upon the bridge becomes more and more
focused for the readers, enabling them to see its impact before the characters
themselves. We stand on tiptoe whenever the bridge enters a story, waiting in
anticipation. And we are not disappointed. We groan with frustration at the
conflicts and sigh with satisfaction at the connections. Our personal memories
loop into the narrative. We are drawn in by the close-up.
Journal Prompt:
Take
an important place for your character and make a list according to Eudora
Welty’s quote above. Just as attributes of love can be expressed in different
ways show how the focus on your character’s place can be a gaze of awareness,
discernment, clarity, order and insight.
Share: Which one
impacted her/his heart as extraordinary?
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