So still trucking away on this 30 day writing challenge, albeit slightly behind. Today is an interesting topic, someone I find fascinating. The thing is, there are a number of people that fascinate me for a number of very different reasons.

For example: Mary Bell, the 6 year old girl who murdered two boys in 1968. Maybe the fascination can be attributed to my Criminal Justice degree or maybe morbid curiosity. Or maybe it’s about wanting to get into her head. What possesses a CHILD to kill another child? Where is the moral and innate knowledge of right and wrong? Are children not born with this? Do we teach them? I could expand this to anyone who does something morally reprehensible. I want to know why, and what motivated them.

On the other end of things, I’m also fascinated with strong women who stand up for other women and question the standards we all live with: Felicia Day, Lena Dunham, Mindy Kaling, Emma Watson, Coco Chanel, Betty Friedan, Barbra Walters, Hillary Clinton, and Ellen Page just to name a few. Each in their own way have made an impact on the world. I am fascinated by these women and their accomplishments. I want to meet them, I want to shake their hands and say thank you. What I would give to chat over coffee and pick their brains.

Lastly, I’m fascinated with other writers: Stephen King, Pat Rothfuss, Ernie Cline, Clair North, Judy Blume, Merissa Meyer, JK Rowling, Andy Weir and I don’t even think I’ve touched the tip of the ice burg on this one. I want to know what their process is, is it like mine? I want to learn from these people, I want to know them on a personal level.

I think ultimately my fascination with people is unending. There isn’t any one person, it’s all people. For every 1-2 fiction books I read, I read at least 1 biography or autobiography. I can’t help but feed my curiosity. My own books are character driven (although I like to think I straddle the line of both plot and character) more often then not for this same reason. I can tell you the inner dialog of each character, how their history shaped them and what their loves and dislikes are.

I’m also fascinated by my family. Particularly members who I care about but on the whole I want to know where I came from. I want to know my history, if all of these people didn’t exist, then I might not either.

So I guess in conclusion, I’d like to not be limited to one person. I’m fascinated by people as a whole. (How very high school ending of me)