I wasn't going to blog about my vacation, but it's just such a constant source of amusement(and I mean that in the most sarcastic sense), I thought you'd get a kick out of it.
Yesterday my two sisters, my parents, my 9 and 6 year old nieces and 71/2 year old nephew drove across Kansas to Colorado. In Denver we picked up my brother-in-law and my 3 year old niece at the airport, because no one can deal with her on a long car trip.
So my sister has an SUV that is used, but new to her as of the night before. We have no idea how anything on the car works. And out in the middle of podunk, she inadvertently put E85 fuel in it. It did not like that at all! So we spent 3 hours at the Lexus dealership in Denver while they flushed out the tank and replaced the fuel. (If you have to be stuck in a car dealership, Lexus is a really nice one)
That was day one, so far this morning, we've had enough hillarity to create an entire MS that would make Erma Bombeck weep. It just goes on and on.
But it is fun to spend time with the kids. I see them all the time at home, but it's only on the annual family vaca that I get to spend 24/7 with them for several days in a row.
Here's the observation of the day: As soon as they've finished with something they discard it. No matter where they happen to be, or how appropriate the spot is. My sisters say at least 100 times an hour, pick that up, don't leave that there, but it's some sort of compulsion. When they're done, they're done. Follow through is just not happening. One of my nieces actually took off a shirt and casually dropped it in the toilet, because that was where the arc of her arm ended when her fingers opened to release the garmet???? What's up with that???? I have noticed the 9 year old niece actually makes some effor, perhaps she's learned the hard way about what happens to items when they are discarded in inappropriate places.
This is my question: If you're writing kidlit, or even adult lit with a child character. Have you ever added those little common place nuances to make a plot point
sometimes, it depends if it really moves the characters and plot forward. Lots of times I write things for me and I know it won't make the final cut
ReplyDeleteI'm with Erinn, it really depends. Some of these things you tend to overlook because they happen so much, but this is a great point to remember!
ReplyDeleteyep, it depends. If it adds to the plot or the characters then, yes.
ReplyDeleteW.I.P. It: A Writer's Journey