Apparently, I’m weird. Okay, Okay I’m not talking about the little blue alien living in my computer. I’m talking about real-life stuff.
Have you ever had someone tell you that your life is implausible, and would never happen?
I’m writing a MG Contemporary, and to keep myself from going off the deep end and blowing stuff up, or having a sea dragon pop out of the ocean, I am grounding the story in my own personal experience.
This is how I found out I’m weird.
I have critique partners telling me that no kid could sail a boat on their own.
Ummm. Huh?
Sail Boat (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I grew up living in a house on the water. We sailed every weekend. We went fishing for our supper. My father loved the water and everything having to do with it.
We all learned to sail from the time we could walk and get a life-jacket slapped onto us. Now, that’s not to say that I, personally could have sailed a boat. I much preferred to catch fishies and scoop up crabs. But my brothers and sisters could sail, and not just small Sun Fish sailboats. Big sucker sailboats. But apparently, my family is weird.
I was also told that a mother that is afraid of the water would not allow her family to be totally in to boating, leaving her discluded from family activities.
Ummm huh?
My mom could not swim. She was terrified of the water. Did that stop us from living five steps from a dock with boats? Umm, No. It was a very rare occasion that she would step foot on the docks, and even more rare for her to get on a boat, but she did it for my dad once in a while. (But he had to go really, really slow or she’d scream bloody murder)
So Mom and Dad were weird, too.
I suppose I am a product of weirdness.
Everyone says write what you know.
This is what I know.
A Nonsuch 30′ under sail – much like the boat I grew up on (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
But apparently what I know is weird.
Have you ever come across this? —
People thinking something you’ve written is implausible just because they were raised differently?
Jennifer M Eaton 
I have been told by a few haters that my novel was implausible. They obviously don’t know what the human mind is capable of. They probably thought I was weird. But that’s okay. I like weird. 🙂
Ha! Nice to see you around, weird and all!
Truth is stranger than fiction. That should make fiction easier to write, but somehow it doesn’t. Glad you’re not blowing things up.
Ha! But I really really want to!
I don’t know why, but people do have this tendency to pass judgment on things they know nothing about…
Oh, definitely. That whole “truth is stranger than fiction” bit caught one of my readers by surprise. It sounds like some of your critique partners need to realize that their perceptions of what “would” happen need broadening!
1st reaction … Who are these people?
2nd … did they mean you didn’t make the story believable? If that’s the case then that’s something you can work with (if you agree), but if they meant it was unbelievable in real life then we’re back at reaction #1
3rd … the LBL lives in your computer? OMG! … must go feed fishies and contemplate on what this means for plans of world domination. (*checks to make sure webcam is disconnected*)
Be careful. I’ve seen her pop up on other people’s blogs.
Some people, I think, had that average (*cough* boring *cough*) upbringing. And they can’t wrap their minds around those of us who lived a little more left field. But if you can’t imagine someone’s life was different from yours, what are you doing with your brain?
(I spent a chunk of my childhood coloring photocopies of tattoos while my dad worked at a tattoo parlor, and I in no way think everyone did that. 😉 )
Wait, didn’t everyone do that? I thought so!
If you’ve done it then you can write about it, that’s my motto. I was once told I couldn’t make it in Alaska. That i’d fail. Here I am, still surviving. Keep writing Jenn, we have faith in your ability to sell your boat story.
I’d definitely freeze in Alaska. More power to you!
Yessss! I get those same weird comments allll the time! I argued over something in 18 Truths with my 2 friends, in fact! They said Olga’s actions weren’t believable, um . . .yeah, I write fiction. But a lot of it’s based on my weird experiences, too. Don’t feel bad . . . just keep writing what you know 🙂
To write it differently would be unbelievable to ME. And I write for my own fun first. Sorry, I’m selfish like that.
So many things occur in real life that if we included in a novel, an agent would say, “That’s not plausible.” The other day I read about a guy who killed another man by giving him an atomic wedgie. I kid you not. Oh, yeah, tell me THAT’S plausible. 🙂
I heard that on the radio. Too weird
I’ve been called weird before, for many many different reasons that people come up with. But you know what? I thank them every time they say so because they just confirmed for me that i am not typical 😀
That’s about as strange to hear as a reader believing everything you write actually happened to you. 🙂
But, but… I did find an alien and spend the summer with him being chased by the army!
😀 😀
I’m following you in comments tonight, Tess. Hee hee hee. But I’m not really stalking you. Or am I?… 😉
Watch those stalking doctors
Nope. Glad of the company, Thank you, Carrie. Hee hee hee.