This post is specifically for Richard Crawford.\u00a0 When I asked a few friends for topics I should write about on my blog, Richard cheerfully suggested trucks.\u00a0 He was looking out the window at the time.\u00a0 So, without using the word “defenestrate” even once, I’m going to talk about my thoughts on trucks.\u00a0 My primary focus will be on their usefulness to me as a writer.<\/p>\n
As much as it seemed like a joke topic, there’s actually quite a bit we can talk about.\u00a0 To start with, the “truck” vehicle category is quite broad.\u00a0 It could describe a small pickup, like the Mitsubishi Mighty Max.\u00a0 Or it refer to a huge 18 wheeler hauling huge loads down a crowded highway.\u00a0 All along the truck spectrum, you can find cultural touchstones, from country music and Southern Pride to CB radio lingo.<\/p>\n
As a writer, trucks are amazing because of just how many implications come packed inside the concept.\u00a0 If the writer describes a character as owning a truck, the reader immediately starts imagining tertiary details.\u00a0 Baseball caps, five o’clock shadow, boots, maybe a denim jacket or plaid shirt.\u00a0 Without any prompting, there are all of these delicious stereotypes to draw upon.<\/p>\n
Quick sidebar… stereotypes have their uses.\u00a0 We shouldn’t use them when dealing with people in real life.\u00a0 Applying stereotypes to individuals is the first step in prejudice and objectification.\u00a0 But stereotypes still exist within the culture, and using them as a shortcut in fiction isn’t explicitly evil.\u00a0 The writer channels The Dark Side when they perpetuate painful stereotypes.\u00a0 But like tropes, touching on a stereotype can be useful for setting up the reader’s expectations.\u00a0 Good writers often take the opportunity to turn those expectations upside down.\u00a0 For example, the parable of The Good Samaritan was based on the stereotype (at the time) that Samaritans weren’t nice people.<\/p>\n
Okay, back to trucks.<\/p>\n
When writing\u00a0The Repossessed Ghost,<\/em> I described two characters as owning trucks.\u00a0 The first was a young woman that thought herself to be above others.\u00a0 I reflected this characteristic in her choice of vehicles.\u00a0 She thought herself better than others, and in her big shiny truck, she sat higher than everyone else.\u00a0 She also drove like the rules didn’t apply to her, going over curbs and taking up multiple spaces when parking.\u00a0 The truck allowed her to get away with this sort of behavior.\u00a0 I was able to use the truck to convey some aspects of that character’s personality without explicitly stating them.<\/p>\n The second character that owned a truck was a man that pretends to be a psychic, selling his services to celebrities and performing on stage.\u00a0 With this character, the truck is a part of his mask.\u00a0 He wears jeans most of the time, but his nails are manicured, and his hair is perfect.\u00a0 He drives a truck because he wants people to believe he’s down to earth, a man of the people.\u00a0 A simple man with a gift, which he shares (for a nominal fee) to the people that need him.\u00a0 There are a lot of lies surrounding this character, but the truck is also a reflection of the truth about him.\u00a0 Where the first character with a truck in the story drives over curbs and can’t stay in her lane, this guy maneuvers his truck with skill and precision.\u00a0 Again, it’s a reflection of his character.\u00a0 He is observant and in control, even when he’s behind the wheel of a tall pickup.<\/p>\n That’s how I used the trucks in my story, and I only scratched the surface of how trucks can be used to convey subtle ideas about character or theme.<\/p>\n Do any of you remember when Senator Ted Stevens talked about the internet saying that it’s “a series of tubes”? It’s been a long time, so I forgive you if you’ve forgotten.\u00a0 In that same speech, he also said the “Internet is not something you just dump something on.\u00a0 It’s not a big truck.”<\/p>\n In addition to being somewhat hilarious, Senator Stevens’ words demonstrate what I’ve been talking about.\u00a0 Trucks are something you can dump stuff on and haul away.\u00a0 We all accept that description of trucks.\u00a0 If a writer is crafting a metaphor about getting dumped on, with the expectation that they will carry someone’s burdens, a truck may serve.<\/p>\n Trucks aren’t the only things in our world that carry connotations or hidden meanings.\u00a0 The exercise I’ve done today with looking at trucks can be applied to lots of things.\u00a0 What do you assume about a character if I mention\u00a0that they’re carrying a Starbucks coffee cup in one hand?\u00a0 What do you think about when I describe a rocking chair, sitting on a porch, its paint faded and flaking?\u00a0 What comes to mind if I mention a tube of cherry red lipstick, sitting on the edge of a nightstand, or maybe at the bottom of a purse?\u00a0 We imbue objects with cultural meaning.\u00a0 As writers, we can tap into those objects and use their ideas, like drawing power from a fresh battery.<\/p>\n Thanks for the topic, Richard.\u00a0 Talking about trucks has been fun.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This post is specifically for Richard Crawford.\u00a0 When I asked a few friends for topics I should write about on my blog, Richard cheerfully suggested trucks.\u00a0 He was looking out the window at the time.\u00a0 So, without using the word “defenestrate” even once, I’m going to talk about my thoughts on trucks.\u00a0 My primary focus […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-925","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/briancebuhl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/925","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/briancebuhl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/briancebuhl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/briancebuhl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/briancebuhl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=925"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/briancebuhl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/925\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":926,"href":"https:\/\/briancebuhl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/925\/revisions\/926"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/briancebuhl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=925"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/briancebuhl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=925"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/briancebuhl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=925"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}