Gordon MacRae Blog

In the coffee shop, P greets me like we saw each other yesterday. In reality it’s been three months. I haven’t been to the cycle studio since before Christmas. I’ve been swimming more and I don’t go cycling in the winter anymore. I just can’t deal with the gear. The two baristas discuss the fact they haven’t finished the class for tonight.

Reading Sally Rooney’s interview in the Paris Review I make notes throughout.

I don’t think people are boring. I agree “every person is intrinsically interesting” but what gives characters power is their relationship to others. Sometimes we don’t ask the right questions of others to uncover what makes them interesting.

I read the other day (and I now can’t find it) that characters don’t make interesting stories. You often hear people say “his story would make a great book”. But it’s rarely true. Stories about individuals are rarely interesting.

Relationships and how those relations change is interesting. That’s what makes a great novel or story. The relationship becomes the plot.