I've had a bit of a quiet week this week. It's been smoking hot here in Canada, and like the exotic Northern flower I am (insert sarcasm here), I do not do well in excessive heat and humidity. My body just wilts and runs for cover. So I've spent most of the week indoors whenever possible, only emerging to my backyard oasis once the sun has set and the temp has dropped a few degrees.
Plus, I'm tired. Absolutely pooped, and my body is more than a little angry with me for working it so hard for the past three months. I have aches and pains where I didn't even know I had parts — and let's just say, walking upright is a tad problematic at the moment.
Admittedly, I'm not the best at working chill time into my routine. I tend to go, go, go until my body says 'ENOUGH!' and I conk out. I'm like that little kid at the dinner table who fights exhaustion until they fall asleep in their bowl of spaghetti. Done and out. It's always been that way for me — just the way I'm wired, I guess.
While my body rested on the couch and recouped, my mind was still as active as ever — but it was a good active. Since finishing the backyard renovation, it's time to shift gears from 'design and building' mode to 'writing' mode. I've been itching to get started on writing another book for a while now, but I was a little stuck and hesitant because I wasn't sure which direction I wanted to go. Did I write another fun adult fiction novel like Songs About Life? Take on the writing of another person's story like I did with Ghost — The Rick Watkinson Story? Or maybe something more in the non-fiction, self-help area.
Or do I do a complete one-eighty and write something purely fantastical, and tailor it towards the younger generation? I think deep down, I've always known the answer and the direction my writing career needed to go.
I am a fifty-year-old child. I'm not afraid to admit it. I get kids and they get me — we're kindred spirits, I think. A huge part of me has just never grown up, and I think that's a good thing. Many times I feel more comfortable in their company than I do with adults. It's just an innate connection I seem to have.
My friends laugh at me because we'll be out doing whatever and inevitably, some kid will find their way over, and next thing you know I'm doing my Elmo impression and telling a hilarious story. Well, at least the kids and I think it's hilarious. The other adults probably not so much — but what do they know? They're obviously no fun at all, otherwise the kids wouldn't have come looking for me. Just sayin'.
'Kidding' just comes easy to me, much more than 'adulting' most days, and I think that's where my influence lies — with the younger set. Adults are too far gone. They're already set in their ways and it's hard to please them. But kids? Kids are awesome. They are open-minded sponges, ready and willing to learn.
Kids will suspend reality and fully immerse themselves in the land of make believe, and as a writer, this is the golden ticket. This is what I want. This is the journey I want to take.
I want to take the knowledge and life experience I've gained and share it with a younger audience in a way that's inclusive and cognizant of their intelligence and respectful of their gifts and their incredible imaginative power.
Children are way smarter and more aware than we as adults give them credit for. They are astute little beings. They aren't afraid to ask questions. I love that. I've been known to throw out a few thousand 'why's' now and again myself.
I've had this story idea percolating for almost thirty years now. I started jotting down some notes and ideas back when my mom was sick. She'd be resting on the couch and I'd be sitting in the comfy chair with my little green notebook. Life took over and I never got too far with bringing the idea to fruition, but I always kept that little green notebook. The paper is yellowed and the pencil scratchings are faded and smudged — which I think just adds to the mystique of my burgeoning idea — but I don't really even need to read them. The ideas are still so fresh in my head, and better still, they apply to the craziness of the world today.
Thirty years later, I still believe that hope is the key to the future, and I firmly believe there's no better place to put that hope than in the hands of children.
Therefore, the next chapter of my writing career will begin there — instilling as much hope, confidence, and sass to the next generation as I possibly can, and doing it with as much imagination, creativity, and humour as I can muster.
This is going to be fun!