Holiday Blog Schedule & A Writing Prompt!
Hello Everyone!
As you can see, the holiday this week has thrown us off a bit schedule-wise, but things should be back to normal next week!
I hope everyone reading this in the U.S. had a safe and enjoyable time celebrating Independence Day! I've always enjoyed celebrating the 4th of July but unfortunately, as many pet owners can attest to, it's not exactly the favorite holiday around our house. The reason why? One word: Fireworks.
I don't know if I've ever mentioned, but both of our pups are rescues from previously abusive situations. As with any person or animal who has gone through a traumatic experience, it can take time and patience to help them work through the residual effects. Most, if not all, animals have issues with fireworks, (aka - ridiculously loud, exploding balls of fiery doom), but they can be especially difficult for animals sensitive to loud noises. Our male dog, Harley, also has epilepsy. Not a great combination.
So, this past Monday we did our July 4th celebrating during the day and made sure we were home that night to hunker down with the pups and wait out the scary booming going on from several of our neighbors' yards. (I would like to point out that I'm not anti-fireworks altogether, I just don't think you need to be shooting off professional-grade decorative explosives near my house.) I was pleasantly surprised that our female, Mya, was able to handle the experience without much soothing needed, a big improvement for her! Harley, on the other hand, had more trouble than usual this year. We'd gotten permission from our vet to give him one of his post-seizure pills prior to the fireworks starting, which kept him from going into a seizure but didn't really help to mellow him out much. We also turned up the TV volume pretty loud, and at least that muffled some of the noise.
As I sat on the floor with a combined 160 lbs of dog trying to hide either underneath me or on top of me, I started thinking that this experience could actually be the seed of a pretty interesting writing prompt.
Think about it, what if you were suddenly seeing or hearing a phenomenon that TERRIFIED you, but that everyone around you seemed to ignore? Fireworks don't scare humans because we understand what they are and what they're for, but to animals this things are loud and bright and not a part of their normal lives. If Harley could have spoken to us, he'd surely have said: "What the hell is wrong with you people?! The end is here!" Poor guy.
So there's our prompt: Put the character you are currently writing, or a new character, into an everyday situation that suddenly turns bizarre, or scary, or downright weird. Assault their senses, throw something at them they've never seen, and write how it feels for them to realize everyone else around them is accepting the event without a problem.
Ready. Set. GO!
(PS - July 5th and January 1st are two of the busiest days for animal shelters due to pets running away in fear. Keep your furry friends inside during the festivities!)
As you can see, the holiday this week has thrown us off a bit schedule-wise, but things should be back to normal next week!
I hope everyone reading this in the U.S. had a safe and enjoyable time celebrating Independence Day! I've always enjoyed celebrating the 4th of July but unfortunately, as many pet owners can attest to, it's not exactly the favorite holiday around our house. The reason why? One word: Fireworks.
 |
| Ohh...Ahhh...Meh. |
I don't know if I've ever mentioned, but both of our pups are rescues from previously abusive situations. As with any person or animal who has gone through a traumatic experience, it can take time and patience to help them work through the residual effects. Most, if not all, animals have issues with fireworks, (aka - ridiculously loud, exploding balls of fiery doom), but they can be especially difficult for animals sensitive to loud noises. Our male dog, Harley, also has epilepsy. Not a great combination.
So, this past Monday we did our July 4th celebrating during the day and made sure we were home that night to hunker down with the pups and wait out the scary booming going on from several of our neighbors' yards. (I would like to point out that I'm not anti-fireworks altogether, I just don't think you need to be shooting off professional-grade decorative explosives near my house.) I was pleasantly surprised that our female, Mya, was able to handle the experience without much soothing needed, a big improvement for her! Harley, on the other hand, had more trouble than usual this year. We'd gotten permission from our vet to give him one of his post-seizure pills prior to the fireworks starting, which kept him from going into a seizure but didn't really help to mellow him out much. We also turned up the TV volume pretty loud, and at least that muffled some of the noise.
 |
| Post-fireworks exhaustion. (Harley-left, Mya-right) |
As I sat on the floor with a combined 160 lbs of dog trying to hide either underneath me or on top of me, I started thinking that this experience could actually be the seed of a pretty interesting writing prompt.
Think about it, what if you were suddenly seeing or hearing a phenomenon that TERRIFIED you, but that everyone around you seemed to ignore? Fireworks don't scare humans because we understand what they are and what they're for, but to animals this things are loud and bright and not a part of their normal lives. If Harley could have spoken to us, he'd surely have said: "What the hell is wrong with you people?! The end is here!" Poor guy.
So there's our prompt: Put the character you are currently writing, or a new character, into an everyday situation that suddenly turns bizarre, or scary, or downright weird. Assault their senses, throw something at them they've never seen, and write how it feels for them to realize everyone else around them is accepting the event without a problem.
Ready. Set. GO!
(PS - July 5th and January 1st are two of the busiest days for animal shelters due to pets running away in fear. Keep your furry friends inside during the festivities!)
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