In our veterinary hospital, we have been focusing on culture. Having been in practice for over twenty years, I will attest to the fact that the make up of a practice culture is deep rooted. It has to do with understanding our ‘why’, having a shared vision, an environment free from harassment and the safety net of respect. I’ve learned it also involves investing in communication. Of course, communicating with pet owners is paramount, but in my experience, one of the largest contributors to a positive practice culture is the communication among staff members.
We recently engaged in all team training called Communicate Naturally, where we learned about different communication styles or personality types. We had to complete a quiz, assigning words to describe our true selves and how we see and react to the world.
As we learned about four different colours, or communication/personality types and where we may be on this colour spectrum, I couldn’t help but wonder what colour my main character would be. Then I started to think about my favourite book & movie characters and what their colour might be. Read more
It was a balmy twenty seven degrees centigrade in late October in Venice, Italy; birthplace of Casanova and often referred to as the most beautiful and romantic city in the world. I was lounging in a café, sipping cappuccino and watching the world go by. Gondolas and river taxis glided past and the canal water gently lapped at the edge of the patio, a scant three feet away. Tourists stopped to pose for photos on the iconic Rialto Bridge.
Character in a book (or movie) is king for me (wait, queen?). If a character doesn’t reach out from the pages and grab me, I won’t enjoy the book and probably won’t even finish it. Because for me, a good story boils down to one simple truth: Story is what happens to a character. So if your character doesn’t rock your book, nobody’s going to care about the story.
About to jump into a new writing project, I find myself developing brand new characters, and I realize I haven’t really done this in a while. I’ve been working on one large writing project for a long time and have grown very comfortable and familiar with my main characters. Yes, there are new characters that enter the scene from time to time and have their roles to play, but the main characters remain constant. They grow and change along the way, but I see them so clearly. While there is a lot to creating any character, there’s something about creating a new main character and the world around them, seeing them begin to take shape and take on a life of their own. Beginning hazy, you start to see their faces, their bodies, their mannerisms. Their passions, views, and the way they look at and interact with the world take shape. You see their relationships and the way they connect with people, and how these interactions make them feel. I find it a fun and exciting process.