You Are A Subject

As writers, we often look around ourselves and see subjects to write about. People in particular are interesting. We see them all the time, sometimes doing the same thing over and over, and we speculate on what may be happening in their lives. But we should remember that we are no different ourselves. We, too, are the subjects that other people write about.

Consider a story about a man who comes into the same restaurant every day, sits in the same booth, gets the same meal, never talks to anybody, then leaves when he's done. I may not be an exciting story, but it is a character study. It's certainly a good subject to use as writing warm-ups.

This is a nameless, impersonal being, more of an object than a person. Except, it isn't. That's me. It's what I do during my lunch break at my day job. The thought struck me that I have become a fixture of sorts and that if I was to describe it, it would sound just like the kind of character study I would do.

We are all subjects to others. This is neither a good thing nor a bad thing. It just means that there are two things to consider. First, every nameless being that you come across in life is a human with thoughts and feelings, living a life that you are seeing a small glimpse of. Second, although you are very intimate with your own life and goings on, you may be nothing more than a nameless being to others, so try not to feel too self-important when you're out there.