You guys, there is something wrong with me.
It’s the second week in a row I forgot to post. Carol emailed me both times at the end of the day with this: Are you okay?
The first time I wasn’t sure why she was asking and then the second time I knew right away what she was asking and I could not believe I did it again. Things have been busy. And stressful. And crazy. But that’s how it is for everyone almost always, right? I blame it on my dentist. There are a lot of things I can handle. A LOT. But then there are some things that knock me off my feet. Dental issues fall into that category.
And so . . . here are three things, none of them related to each other but all very important to the world:
1. The boys are in an on-going argument about which is stronger/tougher, dragons or cats (super cats that can fly and have fire coming from their tummies). This is a very difficult subject around our house and on the one side, it seems obvious, but when you get into the complex world of super-cats, it becomes clear that what was once so simple, has now become much more complicated. These discussions have made me think more and more about fantasy. My boys live in other worlds most of the day. They tie up villains to the trees outside with bungee cords. They yell at me when I step in hot lava. They plan birthday parties for monsters. It’s a constant battle between danger and safety, life and death, good and bad. I wonder if I could tap into that energy. I wonder if I could write a fantasy about super-cats and hot lava. I’ve tried before but it is a struggle. I wonder how many of you write fantasy and contemporary fiction? Is it easy to switch over? We were talking about dinosaurs today and discussing vegetarians vs. omnivores vs. carnivores. How many omnivore fantasy/contemporary writers do we have out there? Does one come more naturally than the other
2. Ray Bradbury once said: “You have to know how to accept rejection and reject acceptance.” What do you think of this advice? Is this easy for you? Difficult? True? False? Happy? Discouraging?
3. If I write a horror novel about dentists, will you buy it?
*No offense to dentists. It’s my issue. Not yours.
Throwing Up Words 
I think all dentists are full of horror. Mine is a perfectly nice man, competent in every way, even his name, which is a nice name–Prince–strikes thoughts of driving off a cliff to avoid The Chair. And yes, you should write fantasy, with your boys as inspiration, and your quirky writing style, your book will make the NY Times best seller list.
PS How’s the “nothing special about me” picture book rewrite coming? Not that it needs re-writing but I thought that was a nice way to call you a slacker without actually saying it. Send it in.
hi lynne! i havne’t seen you in a long time, but i still think you’re awesome and i love your writing! how’s that memoir coming along?
1. i have no idea but it’s definitely not me. i am terrified of writing fantasy. i have a hard enough time with my non-interesting imagination trying to write contemporary fiction, let alone create a whole new type of reality that includes magic. but i think you can do it because a. you have great inspiration in those boys of yours and b. you are ann dee and you can do anything.
2. i think this advice is brilliant and also the hardest thing to do in the world. not caring what others think is what we all want to do and hope to do, but whether what they think is good or bad, we somehow let it affect us. (change all of that “we” and “us” to mean “me”.) but still, i try really hard to be happy with who i am and what i can do and what my accomplishments are based on my own level of satisfaction and not anyone else’s. it’s been refreshing . . . but i also have to readjust my own rejections and acceptances of myself because i’m pretty hard on myself too often. i’m rambling. did any of it make sense?
3. i hope your dental issues are resolved soon. teeth issues are the one thing i have nightmares about. but happily enough, i haven’t had a bad dental experience in awhile. too bad i have to get a crown once i can afford it. 😦
Are you still hurting?
Ha, ha! I can totally relate to the super cats vs. dragons argument. I wish I could record all the crazy-intense conversations my boys have about things like that, just to keep me company when the kiddos are all grown up. But I don’t want to think about that right now.
When I decided (not so long ago) to start writing for real now instead of waiting until my kids are older, I had several ideas for contemporary-ish fiction novels and ONE small thread of an idea for a fantasy. Because my kids love fantasy, that’s the one I decided to go with. And OH it is hard! It is a lot of work, and I’m slow at it, and I think it will be a miracle if I ever get the plot worked out:) But the payback is reading my day’s work out loud to my kids, because they get all excited (and it’s not even that exciting yet). I hope when I eventually cross over into contemporary fiction that it will come just a little more naturally to me. I guess we’ll see:).
Hope your mouth gets feeling better!