Learn From a Teenager

Yesterday my 18 year old was in the kitchen baking a few desserts for me. No, we don't always have dessert and neither am I a child-slave labor advocate...though technically she's an adult now. She owes me some KP duty in exchange for the immense amount of time I spend hauling around her rear end. She doesn't have a driver's license yet because we require our kids to have the cash up front to pay for their own insurance and buy their own car. And the reason we need desserts is because a writer buddy of mine and her family are coming here for a visit this week.


LESSON #1
Cut the backstory. Who gives a rat's buttocks about my kid not having a driver's license? Did you really need to know who's coming to visit?


So 18 is baking away, la-de-da-de-dah, when she hits the doldrums and the wind sags her sails. "I'm sick of this. Can't I do it later tonight?" I gave her my suck-it-up-and-do-what-you-need-to lecture. Not that she was happy about it, but it did get me my desserts baked.

LESSON #2
Write even if you don't feel like it. Putting off writing just because you're not in the mood will not get a novel written.

Then she toodled off with 21 for a clothes shopping spree. That was a recipe for disaster. Not only is 18 not a fan of shopping, but I happen to know the kid has no money. Sure enough. An hour and a half later I get a series of texts from her:
Her: I'm Grumpy.
Me: I'm Dopey...nice to meet you.
Her: Mooooom!
Me: Think of unicorns and puppies.
Her: You're not helping. I just want to come home.

LESSON #3
Leave the angst for your characters. That's the great thing about characters--saves a ton of money on therapy. Work out your emotions through them and voila, you'll create memorable heros and heroines that people can relate to because basically they are you.

This story does have a happy ending. 18 & 21 made it home with their relationship intact. I've got a freezer full of goodies to serve to my guests. And you've got 3 tips to keep you on your writerly track.