A few days ago, Christine wrote about being inspired to write by something she saw. Within the past few months, paying attention to the advice of 'write what you know', I've begun to create characters who are children, four years and younger. I am writing what I see and hear every day.
Several months ago, I told grand-daughter to put on any pair of underpants as long as they were clean and they fit.
Horrified, she retorted, "I'll go naked if I can't find my Kai Lan panties."
To which I responded, "It's against the rules to go bare-assed, Meredith."
Her brother, who at that moment was wearing the MIA Kai Lan panties on his head, tugged on my hand and asked, "What's bare-assed, Nana?"
Too priceless to ignore when writing a scene for Raising Kane which featured a harassed single dad who is struggling to get the kids off to school while running late for work himself.
Later, different day but same children are scarfing down pasta salad as if it were their last meal, one asks, "This is good stuff, Nana, what's it called?"
"Orzo salad. Do you like it?"
"It looks like Mason [pre-school classmate]'s worm farm but it tastes lots better."
Only an innocent could say something like that, and get away with it.
The moral: use what's right in front of your face.
Siochain!
Kat
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Wow, you're right, Kat. That's priceless!
ReplyDeleteI love listening to kids talk, too. I usually have six or more boys running around the house, so I get to hear them chatter most afternoons. Yet, oddly enough, I have no desire to write for that age group. Of course, most of what I hear revolves around Star Wars, guns, burps and armpit farts, so there's not much there that's fodder for chapter books.
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