So my kids and I are sitting at the table, eating pizza, and hanging out together. Then the ideas started flowing. Have you noticed the fun ideas kids have? My kids are 7 and 4, and they are definitely warped. I'm so proud! So here's the lines of what if's that happened.
What if the world was made of pizza? How would it smell after a few days? Could plants still grow in it? At least world hunger would be taken care of for a little while until all the plants died or adapted! How would buildings fare in such a squishy environment? Would we all sink into the cheese and have to live on the pepperoni? Would the pizza rot or fossilize?
Then we wondered what would happen if an alien saw our planet and wanted to eat it. How big would that alien have to be? What if the Alien was SOOOOO big that he could swallow the whole planet without us noticing? Would we be flooded with alien stomach acid? Would we be dissolved instantly? How quickly would we notice that the moon and sun and stars had disappeared? What if the Alien swallowed the entire galaxy? How long would it take for us to notice that the other galaxies and stars outside of our solar system were gone?
Then my son piped up and started telling a story of how a GINORMOUS Alien (tm) could run across planets, using them as cosmic stepping stones, and then saw our planet. What would happen if a GINORMOUS Alien (tm) jumped on our planet? And even MORE, what if that GINORMOUS Alien (tm) was made entirely of pizza? Would the whole world swarm all over it and eat it? And if this G.A. was on our planet, how would that affect the orbit of our planet? Would it cause it to "sink" in space? Would it affect the rotation?
So what do you guys think? How would a G.A. (tm) made of pizza jumping on the earth affect the earth? Are there any math people out there who would care to come up with an experimental equation?
It's so interesting to see where and how people get their ideas. Have you ever brainstormed fun things with your kids? Or with your younger brother or sister or niece or nephew or the kid you babysit? A lot of the ideas they come up with are simply insane. My daughter decided the G.A. (tm) jumped on the planet that had turned into pizza, and turned into pizza himself, and got so hungry that he ate himself aaaaaaaalllll up. Then we wondered if he would be able to feel that since his nerve endings would have turned into cheese strings. Sometimes they come up with great ideas for kid stories. Sometimes they come up with a thousand and one ideas that are positively useless, but in thinking how silly and useless they are, sometimes they can spark an idea in your own mind of what you'd like to do.
Don't write children's stories? Well frankly, I don't really either. I've tried my hand at it, and it was terrible. I might try again one day, especially since my daughter came up with a great idea for a story while she was naming dolls in a catalog. (She names everything, and I have to admit, most of them sound like High Fantasy style names. I've even named a few of my characters names that she came up with at one point or another.) The thing is, inspiration is everywhere. Inspiration for any kind of written piece- romance, adventure, comedy, fantasy, science fiction, poetry, songs, short stories, novels-can be found anywhere. So next time you have writer's block, talk to a kid. Discuss philosophy with a dog. Play a role-playing game and see where your character goes. Ask a random person on a random street a random question. Go sit at the mall and start describing people, start making up stories for each one of them in your mind. It will get those creative juices flowing, and you'll probably be able to have an idea for your own story spark in your mind, and then you can sit down and start typing your happy, non-blocked fingers off.
Now, to work on my own writer's block and catch up on my NaNoWriMo! With the crazy week I've had, I've gotten VERY behind. Wish me luck! :D
Mission complete. In fact, 126 words over the needed limit. It's 1:35 here in Idaho, and I am absolutely dead. I've been busting my brain cells for the past week trying to catch up. I frankly didn't think I would be able to do it. At the beginning of last week, I was only around 17,000. Guess what though? I did it. I have proven to myself that in spite of everything, in spite of moving and getting a divorce and dealing with legal stuff and getting back into school and getting totally behind while still caring for my two children, I was able to do this. My very sincere thanks to one of my best friends, Wolf Althuis, for cheering me on, for helping me understand that this month was about quantity, not quality, and that that was ok. Next month is for editing. Actually, next month will see me doing a TON of sewing and getting ready for Christmas, and working at a MUCH slower pace on this novel. I'm barely scraping the plot line so far. I sense this novel is going to be VERY long. Anyway, good night, universe! :D
