J is for Jelly Bellies

I love Jelly Bellies. Or is it Jelly Bellys? You know, the Jelly Belly candy. They're super expensive, but oh so worth it.

They're just one of the many snacks that work best for me while writing, popping one or two in my mouth at a time and feeling the mix of flavors combine to make something more than just themselves.  Seems wholly appropriate when it comes to writing, doesn't it?

But it brings up other memories and emotions as well that get me to giggling.

I remember the hilarious evening I spent with two of my sisters-in law over an enormous bucket of Jelly Bellies. The husbands were in the living room playing video games, while we were in the kitchen plotting a war of our own, turning an innocent candy into a means of torture.  Ever tried popcorn flavor with grape jelly? Yeah, the guys didn't think much of it either.  But we thought it was only fair since they were hitting us up for snacks. So yeah, time after time we popped multiple concoctions in their unsuspecting mouths, taking advantage of the fact that their hands were too busy.  They couldn't spit them out and their eyes were too focused on the game to pay attention to what we were doing.

At first.

They caught on quickly that it wasn't a fluke and refused to take anything more from us.  Cool.  Now we were free to eat the rest of the bucket ourselves and laugh the rest of the night away in the kitchen.

Now, why on earth am I telling you this?  Because this is the stuff that characters are made of.  How we can use scenes to depict one's character, motives, or deviousness.  Just like this. Already you have a different image of me. Yes? No?  That's okay. I'll share one more experience if you really want me to. Or you can share one of your own. Or both.

 How about it? You share one, then I'll share one. And maybe we can learn a little more about each other in the process.  Plus it'll be great practice for all those character sketches you're going to do now. :)