Monkeys and Piglets and Wolves, Oh My!
It's typical, I guess, for kids to want whatever their siblings have. I shouldn't have expected anything else.
After I wrote The Adventurous Life of Monk and His Boy for Jeremiah, Rachel and Katie started begging for books of their own. Rachel desperately wanted a story about Piglet. At first, I pointed her to the bookshelf in the playroom. The one covered with A.A Milne stories. She smiled, but made it clear that "the other Piglet" was not what she was talking about.
So, I tried. I tried to sit down and write a story about Rachel and Piglet, just like I had done for Jeremiah and Monk. But I couldn't.
Jeremiah's book was so natural for me because each chapter is based on real life events. Real adventures of a boy and a bud. It all just flowed.
Rachel and Piglet have had far fewer adventures. I guess I could write about tea parties, grocery shopping trips and sleepovers with cousins and their buds, but every time I tried, it just felt forced. It felt bland. And it wasn't enjoyable for me in the least.
When I wrote Jeremiah's book, I loved every minute. I set alarms two hours earlier than usual just to get up and write. I used every spare moment of my day to jot down memories of the two of them together and outline chapters. I worked late into the night, and it never felt like work. It had been a long time since I had been that excited about something.
Trying to work up an outline for Rachel and Piglet was stressful. Boring. And brought no joy at all. I finally told her one day that I just couldn't do it. She was very sweet about it and, though obviously disappointed, told me she understood. I hugged her and said, "Maybe I can write you a story about something else one day."
Her eyes lit up and she excitedly said one word. If you know her well at all, you'll know what word it was.
"Wolves!"
I laughed and told her I would try.
That night, after the kids were tucked in tightly, I sat down to see if I could come up with an outline. Instead, I wrote the first 4 chapters in about 40 minutes. The joy was back! It all just flowed. Rachel's love of wolves was fresh and real and easy to put on paper. I finished her story a few days ago.
She had been begging me daily for the last month and a half to let her read the story and I always told her she'd have to wait until it was finished. When she overheard me telling my sister that it was done, she pounced. "Can I read it now?!"
I had planned to make her wait till I had a physical copy for her, but her excitement changed my mind. I downloaded the document onto the tablet and gave it to her. She skipped off and read the whole thing in a day.
I had warned her beforehand that the story was not all "rainbows and unicorns", and even used the dedication section in the beginning to ask her to forgive me for some of the chapters.
She read the first few chapters constantly running back to read a section aloud to me that she loved. I could hear her laughing in her room at times, and any time she left the room, the story went with her.
I was waiting for her to hit the middle of the story. Waiting to find out if she still liked me or not.
Finally, she read the chapters I had warned her about. She quietly came out of her room and walked right up to me. I could see just the tiniest hint of tears in her eyes. She wrapped her arms around my waist and solemnly said "I forgive you" then turned and quietly walked back to her room.
I had to fight to honor her seriousness and keep myself from laughing out loud! It was just so cute.
So, Dear Readers, this is your warning that my next book - the not all rainbows and unicorns story for my daughter - will be available soon! I hope you guys can forgive me for the story as well. =)