Unexpected Consequences
Behind our property is a huge meadow which provides food and shelter for small game and wildlife. In the late afternoons a Marsh hawk often glides silently across the hillocks looking for field mice. On warm sunny mornings I have occasionally spotted a coyote napping on a favorite outcropping. Once I saw two coyotes that looked as if they had curled up together to sleep off their “all- nighter”. They are diligent about getting up well before noon to jog into the tree lined gully.
My little Pugs are well attuned to the night sounds of the coyotes raucous howling and chattering when the wild pack heads out on their late night grocery run. The Pugs either bark furiously or try and answer with their domestic version of yodeling. They do a pretty good imitation too boot.
This week the natural history channel had a program on Yellowstone National Park’s coyotes and foxes. The minute the coyotes started vocalizing the Pugs dashed out the dog door sure they were being invaded by their wild cousins. They knew that sound! Not finding anything outside in the garden they came back inside to sit and stare at the TV screen. Sure enough the minute they saw a coyote they charged the screen and/or dashed back outside. It was simply too much excitement for them and such an unexpected distraction I switched to a different channel.
Writers sometimes experience a fictional character whose actions cause unexpected consequences. When this happens to me I usually try to follow the direction the character is going. This means I need to write unexpected bridge scenes and trust the outcome will be okay. And sometimes these bridge scenes lead to substantial unexpected results, and more scenes. Word count adds up quickly!
Canines, (esp. Pugs) and fictional characters provide endless moments of entertainment!
