Writer Friends and Pet Lovers! This month, I had the honor of writing the lead article in the June newsletter for Women on Writing, Never Alone, Your Pet as Muse. Just for you, I’ll share an excerpt with some of my favorite writing prompts featuring our “other babies.”
Write a story for children. Like so many other Gen X’ers, I grew up on the illustrated tales of Richard Scarry and Dr. Seuss. Featuring animals in a story is an easy way to captivate children and to gently teach them important life lessons. This is especially appealing for writers who also like to draw or are willing to learn. Or, in the example of Stan and Jan Berenstain, creators of the kid’s lit franchise, Berenstain Bears, you can also find a collaborator!
Give your fictional character a pet. The addition of a pet can add texture to the life of your protagonist, and in the case of Jasper, the dog of Mrs. De Winter in the novel Rebecca, they can also help advance the plot. Jasper led our heroine on a number of adventures that ultimately helped unravel the novel’s deepest secret.
Where is Fido? Take a pivotal point in your life and put your pet in it. The harrowing and poignant modern essay, The Fourth State of Matter, by Jo Ann Beard, gets its momentum from the author’s masterful weave of her collie’s illness and a workplace shooting. Where was your pet during your own struggles? Make a short diary of their behavior and your dilemma and watch them magically converge into an essay of your own.
Give your pet the pen. Write a scene from your own life from the point of view of your pet. But there’s a catch. You must be perfectly serious. Comedy will naturally arise, but it will be even funnier if you let your dog describe you baking a cake or weeding the garden without irony or intentional humor.
Your pet at work. My dogs and cat spend most of the day snoozing, to be honest. But when Little Puss is stalking a lizard or when my husky Max is alerting me to the arrival of the postal carrier, they are all business. In the spirit of White’s beloved Fred, describe the unwavering dedication of your favorite hunter or guardian in work mode.
If these prompts intrigue you and you’d like to have even more, I hope you’ll join us for The Pet Project, a two-hour workshop on Friday, June 19, from 2 – 4 pm ET. At this special event, we’ll read pet-driven poetry and prose written by masters such as E.B. White, T. S. Eliot, Rachel Wetzsteone, Mary Oliver and more, and discuss techniques from them that can enhance portrayals of our own pets. We’ll use THREE unique prompts guaranteed to generate instant work you may polish later and submit for publication. As with all my classes, I’ll also include a roundup of magazines and websites eager to publish your writing. And for an additional fee, I’ll critique up to 3 pages of your work and offer targeted submission opportunities.
During our time together, we may laugh, and yes, we may cry a tear or two, but it will be time well spent. Hope to see you (and your pets) there!
For more information and to sign up, please click here.
Wishing you and your other babies a happy spring!
Ashley, Max, Tulsi, Hermia and Lysander
Ashley Harris 