Thank you Uncle Jesse

I truly believe that psychology is a powerful weapon in a writer's arsenal as it helps with the understanding of what you characters go through and how they will act to make your story the most believable possible. I recently ended my most fun psych classes, child psychology. For a good part of it, it was difficult because it brought up a lot of memories - painful and fun. One of the fun memories was what inspired me to write most. I read a lot as a child, but I also spent a lot of time in front of the television. A lot of my stories were never written, but acted out as I created my own world. I wrote later on when I saw others did the same thing in the realm of fan fiction.

As a child, I imagined being in the woods, lost and finding my own paths, never wanting to go back to the life before. Then as people came and went, I would watch them, sometimes help them, but it was more of a modern day Tarzan and the Amazon jungle was actually on my backyard trampoline.

I was the outcast befriended by superheros. No matter what powers they had, they also had weaknesses and I could step in as a friend. That was my power - conveniently being in the right place at the right time.

I was a street rat in Hazard County and getting into a lot of trouble with a mechanic named Crazy Cooter. I hung around his garage, messed his tools, and accidently got locked in the trunk of vehicle headed for the smasher. Yet as this character grew in my imagination, it looked up to Uncle Jesse. If there was one person who could shake their thick, calloused finger, give that stern look, growl and bark their warning with that stern voice, and not be made fun of as he wore the same overalls, red hat, and red handkerchief hanging out of his pocket all the time, that could make my character sit up straight and listen, it was Uncle Jesse. He was the father figure to his niece, nephews, and even their friends,and to many latchkey kids who waited for the right slot time for the show to start, as he ran his farm and kept his land out of the hands of Boss Hog.

These characters still exist and wait to come alive again with new stories to tell. Makes me wish I kept a journal as a kid so I could have written my adventure of the day down. Whether it was trying to keep Philip and Beth together on Guiding Light, fighting Gargamel in the Smurf's forest, wanting to loose myself in the jungle, or steal the General Lee for a joy ride, I miss those adventures. Even if I did try to write them now, it would not be the same as the imagination of my childhood was much more vivid than my adult imagination.

In my early twenties, I was introduced in fan-fiction. It changed a lot of how I write and how I imagine my characters. After watching way too much television and too many movies I pay attention to their voice tones, their facial features, and how they carry themselves in different situations. A lot of the physical features of my characters are based of actors and musicians. Many of my stories start out as fan-fictions and then I just change a few names and tweak a few situations to slide into a new universe.  No matter which world I visit, one thing I always keep in the back of my mind is the stern teaching and hospitality of Uncle Jesse and the experiences of my psych classes. There are a lot of mistakes my characters will make as conflict moves things along in a story, but I find Uncle Jesse there saying be good, stand up to the choices you have made, and when you make a mistake, make it right.

Thank you Uncle Jesse for keeping "Those crazy Dukes" and me in line.