I'd Like to Thank the Little People

I've written before about thinking positively and imagining a day when I will in fact have a book published. And part of that imagining involves a dedication because that's the special place where within a sentence you have to thank everyone you love. Which seems about as easy as actually writing the book itself. However, when one of my favorite authors, Rick Riordan released his newest book House of Hades the dedication was so good that I laughed, read it again, and then decided to do a little bit more daydreaming.

House of Hades picks up on an intense cliff hanger from the previous book in the series. So Rick Riordan, being incredibly funny decided to have this be his dedication:
"To my wonderful readers: Sorry about the last cliff hanger. Well no, not really. HAHAHAHA. But seriously, I love you guys."

So I'm pretty sure that's one of the best dedications of all times. And it got me thinking about exactly who I was going to thank on that magical day when I finally do get published. (Positive thinking right?) A first book is special because it doesn't just represent the work you've put into the text, but the work to get there, the bad drafts, the practice, and learning about yourself that comes along with writing. (As demonstrated by 3.5 years of this blog.) 

Guardians is also a story about relationships between friends and family. Ultimately no psychotic wizard (stay tuned) is going to stop Ben and Rafi from getting home because they get by with a little help from their friends (oh hey Ringo.) So I realized that I had no choice but to pull a cliche and thank my parents, the two people who have always supported me. 

"To Ima and Abba for never laughing at me when I told you what I wanted to do with my life. And for continuing to catch me when I fall." I don't know when I will see these words on a page but they will be just as true then as they are now.  

These are a Few of My Favorite Things

Many authors listen to music to help them write. They have specific bands they like, or a new playlist for every book. I've even seen authors thank bands in their acknowledgements. I also have music that I like to listen to while I write. My favorite songs are ones with really great lyrics because good writing inspires me. Yesterday though, I tried a different approach.

Anyone who's known me for longer than a day or two will discover that I am borderline obsessed with football. From September to December (and usually into January or even February...because my team is amazing) those three hours on Sunday are ironclad football time. There's something amazing about how in football thirty seconds can change the entire game. 

Last night I was watching the first two wildcard playoff games with my family. Like any experienced TV watcher, I had brought something to do during commercials. My siblings had their phones, I had my notebook and a pen. Now, if one of these games had been a Patriots game I probably wouldn't have been able to write. But in the background of the Saints vs. Eagles game I finished a section of Guardians that's been giving me a hard time. For some reason, the commentary of the analysts made the perfect background noise to get me into the optimal writing flow.

I don't know if I've cracked the code to what gets my creative juices flowing and I probably won't start replaying games to help me write. But I do love that two of my favorite things were able to come together and produce some pretty good results.