This blog is for those 18 and older.

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Writing with Pets


If you’ve read this blog before, you know I have a fondness for animals in stories and the antics they pull, but today, I’m going to talk about real-life pets (what am I saying? Real-life fuzzy, four-legged children). 

The mistress of this blog has a cat. His name is Giz and he’s a most wonderful cat (although I sometimes think he thinks he’s a dog). His favorite thing to do? Lay across the keyboard so Alexis can’t write. 

I, myself, have two dogs. They usually lay on the futon behind me while I write and I will admit, I sometimes read them snippets of what I’m working on (well, of course I talk to them. Don’t you talk to your pets? Excuse me again, fuzzy, four-legged children?). I am proud to say, they hang on my every word and think I am brilliant! 

However, there are times when I wish they wouldn’t be so…attentive. Well, attentive may not be the word I’m looking for. A pain in the behind might be a better phrase. You see, sometimes, the futon just isn’t good enough for them. Sadie, especially, likes to crawl in the space under my desk. Now, this would be fine….if she were a small dog, but she’s not. She’s a German Shepherd and she weighs about 65 pounds. It’s very disconcerting to have a huge dog beneath your feet (although, on the flip side, on cold mornings, it can be quite nice). 
            
 Now Daisy, my other Shepherd, doesn’t crawl beneath my desk. Daisy likes to nudge my hand so I can pet her. I don’t mind petting her….she’s soft and warm and funny and sweet (she’s a little ADD and has the attention span of a gnat, but I still love her) but really? How am I supposed to write when my fingers are sliding along the keyboard and I look at the screen and see )(%&#)(IFHDIU? Don’t know about you, but this makes no sense to me at all!
             
Do any of you have pets (four-legged, fuzzy children) who prevent you from writing the next Great American Novel? What are some of the things they do?

As always, happy reading!
Marie

6 comments:

  1. Love your article, Marie!
    I also have 3 doggie-kids and they're big. I have two boxers and a rotty and they are giant babies. My youngest boxer lets me know how long I have to write... when he thinks it's time to quit and head for bed, he climbs the stairs to the loft, stares at me, and insists I follow him. If I'm not quite ready, I have to sit(on the floor) by him and console him till he takes a snooze, and then I can sneak away for a little more writing time.
    They're all wonderful, and my dogs were the only ones home when I found out about my first publishing offer...so they heard about it first!
    And I love Shepherds...very noble dogs! Oh, and Alexis, your kitty looks so huggable:)

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    1. Dawn, isn't it amazing how our pets communicate. Yours says come to bed, Marie's says "pet me" and mine says,"just stop writing and give me attention." It would seem the one thing they have in common is distracting us from writing!

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  2. Thanks, Dawn.
    Doggie-kids. I love that. I've also heard Furbabies, which I love too. Doesn't matter what we call them or what kind of pet they are, they make the whole journey complete, don't they? And obviously, yours hang on your every word too and think you're brilliant (like mine do). Not sure about cats...do they ever think humans are brilliant? Alexis, can you answer that?

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    1. Sigh. No my cat does not think I'm brilliant. He can't understand why I'm sitting at the keyboard when I could be out on the beach or why I won't let him out to catch geckos. He's actually thinks I'm quite off slow. But I guess that is normal for cats.

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  3. From the picture, I think Alexis' cat is telling her to get going on her fantastic work! So he must think she's brilliant!!

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    1. Nope. He thinks I've been on the computer long enough and it's "Giz time." He's not quite as supportive of my writing as my husband is :-}

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