Thursday, June 6, 2013

Revision as Inspired by Rogue Chickens



Those of you who follow me on Twitter may have noticed my tweets about a flock of rogue chickens, in particular this white hen.  She insisted on returning and hanging around the front of our store, even after her brown sisters had wandered back down the street and once again been imprisoned in their coop.



At the time, the writer part of me started asking the ‘what if’ question and wondering why Ms. White Hen wanted so badly to be a store mascot. At least her continuous peering in the front door made me think that’s what she wanted.

At any rate, at the time, I dreamed up stories--and now it appears to be time for revisions.


While cleaning up the shop’s side yard, my husband decided to get rid of a piece of junk plywood and ended up uncovering deeper layers of the white hen’s story. In fact, he exposed all kinds of subplots and story possibilities that never would have seen the light of day if the story had been written down as a first draft.  Okay I’m pushing this analogy, but I’m about a third of the way through revising Devil’s Orchid and what he found was a good reminder to me to continuously keep any eye out for hidden layers and opportunities as I move forward.


The hen’s story ended up being be a tragedy about a lone white bird who longed for her own family, escaped from bondage and laid eggs in secret, but the lack a rooster doomed her to return home and become nothing except an imprisoned egg machine—well, a pretty fat and sassy one, but no matter how you look at it her dream was crushed. 


So, to all of you in the middle of fast drafting or revising, did you uncovered any hidden possibilities in your story this week? 


Thursdays Children is a blog hop. If you'd like to join simply write a post about what inspires you and add your link to the list below.







20 comments:

  1. I loved that! But poor fat sassy hen :( I believe our local rogue duck met an even worse fate but I try not to think about it too much...

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  2. Yeah, BBQ went through my mind. But these same neighbor had a huge sow and I didn't realize it until it escaped and went wandering up the road. Hmmm. That pretty much brings me back to the BBQ idea :(

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  3. That was a lovely post Pat. It's amazing where our inspiration for writing can come from sometimes. When I was a young teenager I started to write a fairy tale inspired by my family's chocolate Labrador. It was going to be about a dog who becomes a prince. Unfortunately I didn't get very far with it.

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    1. In one of my manuscripts, a dog is the host for a dead king's soul. It only seemed right to me. And he ends up being one of the story's heroes in a rather unexpected way.

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  4. Here's to loveless chicks everywhere. You are lovable!
    Lovely post.

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    1. Last summer there were roosters only across the street and hens behind me. I was surprised they didn't seem aware of each other. I guess that would speak to their brain size :)

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  5. Oh the poor chicken! Wish she could have stayed and been your stores mascot! Such good timing for me to read this, we are trying chickens for the first time and have four little chicks now. The kids are turning them into pets, though. No roosters for us, either...I hear they are mean. Thanks for sharing, Patty!

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    1. You should follow my friend Suzanne on Facebook or her blog. http://www.suzannewarr.com She is the queen of all things chicken. Have fun (they really do make good pets).

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  6. Oh, the poor spunky hen. She would have made a good mascot I think.:)

    http://otherworlddiner.blogspot.com/2013/06/inspired-by-friends-new-ideas-and-good.html

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    1. I wish I had spotted the eggs while they were still fresh, then we could have had a mascot and breakfast!

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  7. Maybe she was peering in because she was hoping you had a spare rooster in your shop somewhere! =)

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  9. Love this. It reminds me of the Doctor Doolittle stories ;-)

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    1. I always had a bit of a thing for that doctor ;)

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  10. It's wonderful just where ideas can spark from. Love the way our writerly imaginations go 'what if'...

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    1. It is truly amazing sometimes, especially when the what if explodes into a huge epic story.

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  11. Next time you see that white hen, send her my way and I'll hook her up with a nice handsome roo. ;) Love the analogy, too. Stories are organic so they can grow and reveal their hidden layers!

    --Suzanne
    www.suzannewarr.com

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  12. I'll tell her about the potential boyfriend. She's actually within earshot of the store.

    LOL. You're right that is truly 'organic' writing.

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  13. Haha! Loved those photos and your commentary. Who knew a hen could be so tragic?

    Thanks for sharing!

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