Do you ever think of home as a port, a place to stop by, restock, hang out with the awesome people you grew up with, and then set sail to roam the seas for a time and return again later?

Anchor

Or do you think of home as solid ground, wrenching free and traversing too far away from means plunging off a cliff of madness, a place of comfort and security where you want to spend as much of your time as possible in that invigorating atmosphere?

Tree Roots

I don’t believe either way is wrong, but it is food for thought.

(Ha! I should have called this Food For Thought Friday… or is that pushing it too much? Pretty sure so…)

I realized many of my lead characters are “Roots” people. And while they often end up more of the Anchor type (or somewhere in between), they seldom are that sort of carefree-wandering/less-need-for-familial-recharge type. As one character said to my lead in my recent story, Mastermind: “‘I know you’re simply crazy to be home again, Alex. You’re literally going nuts over it…'”

I got to wondering, “What does this reveal about me?” I’ve discovered that my stories can provide a uniquely startling and accurate window into myself (revolutionary, I know). I would have classified myself to be more of the roamer Anchor type, since I’m such die-hard freelancer in most things. But I wondered, does this show a real innate need in me to have a safe-haven home to fly to, like a bird to its nest every night? Do I really tend to be a Root girl after all?

Just a little thought…

Disclaimer: I don’t know of any official research into Anchor vs. Root as a personality distinction. So far as I am aware, I made this up, so please do not take this as anything solid/scientific or any of that. Its merely my own personal reflections and musings (hey, how about “Monday Musings”… on a Friday?? Still pushing it to far? Um, yeah…).

Are you an Anchor or a Root person? Do your characters/stories ever provide insight into yourself?

~ Kat