Is it a lie or an imagination?

My son has a sunburn.

Normally, this would cause mild pain, itching, and burning sensations. In my child, a sunburn is a paralyzing deformity. He’s an embellisher.

Of course, every time that he tells a lie, that little voice in my head (my mom) tells me that it’s payback. Growing up, I was a story-teller. Half of the things I would tell people were not complete truths.

Now that I’m a writer, I’m glad that I got all of that practice growing up. I can make a story believable because I learned to lie.

I don’t want to encourage my child to lie, but it’s healthy to have an imagination. I allow the small embellishments (Mom, I just saw a green elephant walk by.), but there is a line.

He flirts with this line often and I have to point it out again. I probably wouldn’t catch as many of his lies, but when he says them, it comes out more like a question. He’s asking my permission for his latest embellishment. (Mom, the cat just jumped off the roof?)

I know, I know, I shouldn’t encourage this type of behavior. But, hey, he might be a writer some day or…. a politician ~cringe~

Idiots, Drama, and Other Inspirational Happenings

I would like to apologize in advance for this post. It was inspired by idiots who live for drama.

As a writer, I have come to look at things a little differently. We are all surrounded by idiots and drama, but I have decided that they make great inspiration for my writing. We’ll get back to this point in a second.

Another thing that I have noticed recently is how quickly my imagination can get away from me. I received a phone call the other day from one of my lovely nieces. It went something like this:

*Ring, Ring*

Me: Hello

Her: Can you shoot a gun?

(First, let me point out, she did not say hello. Just went straight into what she wanted, but I quickly brushed that aside and my mind took off. Her little sister has recently begun dating so my thought was: Oh, God, what happened? I’ll kill him! Where does he live? Can I convince him to come to my house that way I can tell the cops that he was trespassing? Wait, calm down. She hasn’t told you what the jerk did yet.)

Me: Why?

Her: There’s a *critter* in the chicken coop and I’m scared to go in.

So, it wasn’t as exciting as I thought it was and, even worse, my younger niece is still dating! (I’m VERY overprotective. In fact, maybe I should send him this link.)

I know what you’re thinking and the answer is; yes, all writers are insane. That’s why our books are so interesting. We have overactive imaginations and take things that happen every day for inspiration.

Now a warning: if you act like an idiot or bring drama to a writer, expect it to be used in her next book. You have been warned, so what was it again that you were wanting to talk to me about?