Write About What You Know

That’s what I’ve always been told. Write about what you know. Sometimes it’s a mistake to ask yourself what it is that you know. What if you come to the realization that you know nothing at all? Luckily, I found that I do know a little bit about a few things. At least there are subjects about which I know enough to write an interesting blog post or two, perhaps as many as three.

Before Christmas of last year, I got the idea that maybe I could write a story. I had an idea for one that involved a man and his cat, well, kitten in this case. I know a little about cats and I’ve learned a couple of things about people, plus I have some personal experience being a person. So, I set out writing a story. I had the whole thing visualized, more or less, I just needed to make the words describe what happened and convey the message I wanted to deliver. It wasn’t nearly as easy as I thought it would be, but I managed to get it written; and it turned out just about as I had intended.

I had done some of that sort of writing before, many years ago; and had almost gotten to the point where I might even have gotten myself published. Unfortunately for my writing career at that time, other events occurred and I had to set it aside for a while. Everything changes as time ticks along, that’s how we tell that it has passed. I changed, editors changed, doors closed, and other doors opened. The whole nature of how we get our information changed from words printed on paper to words stored on computer hard drives and flash memory and displayed on a screen. There are still stories to be told, though, and readers desiring to be entertained and enlightened, we have simply begun to change the methods we use to communicate with each other. In some ways, it is easier to find a reader now than it has ever been. It is also easier to get a story published, and because it’s easier there are many more stories available to readers than there have ever been. Anybody can write a story and with a little computer savvy can find a place on the internet to make it available to a reader. Of course, not everyone can write a good story, but that doesn’t keep anyone from publishing their story anyway. How do you sort out the good stories from the other sort? And how can you cause a good story be found by someone who will appreciate it? I suspect it’s a bit of a treasure hunt for the reader. I know it’s a dilemma for a writer. Since I’m your typical starving artist, I get my books from the second-hand store or the thrift store. They are wonderful places to find books, but it helps if you know what you’re looking for. Ofttimes I am looking for specific titles to fill in a series that I’ve been collecting, but sometimes I discover a new author and that really is the ultimate reward for this sort of treasure hunt.

When I made the decision to pursue writing as a career, forsaking all other endeavors, I had to start from scratch. I began with this blog, since, as I said, I know something about cats. Soon thereafter, I started a blog about my car building and repairing adventures; and then I needed to write about what was happening in my life on a more personal level and so I started a blog about me. I enjoy writing all the blog posts, but even though each blog has ads included on the page, they don’t generate any significant income, and therein lies one of the primary problems with this “career.” It just doesn’t pay well, which means that it mostly doesn’t pay at all. And then I recalled that, at one time, a few years ago, there was the possibility of selling some short stories. So, I decided to give that sort of writing another try. The result, so far, has been two stories, both about a man and his cat. Hey, don’t laugh, they tell you to “write about what you know.” After I finished the first story, which I called “The Christmas Kitten,” I realized that, because Christmas had nearly arrived, I’d either have to wait until next year to get it published in any sort of print medium, or I’d have to post it on the internet somewhere.

Getting your story published on the internet is easy. Getting readers to pay for your story is not so easy. The reasons are legion. First of all, very few people know who I am and, thus, are not looking for stories written by me. Second, of the people who know me, only a very few would expect to pay for a story written by me. Third, most of the places on the internet that offer to publish your story, don’t offer a way for you to get paid by readers. The list goes on, but you get the idea. So, now I have to learn marketing, public relations, distribution, in other words, the publishing business. Help!! All I wanted to do was tell a simple story and exchange whatever value it has with someone who agreed that it was worth reading. That’s when I discovered Amazon’s Kindle.

I was aware of the electronic book as a product and knew that there are a few versions of the thing made by a several different companies. As I browsed around the internet, it looked to me like the Amazon product was the most accessible for someone like me. I looked through what others authors were offering and decided that I’d give it a try. I set up my account and then I discovered that each book or story offered should have an image to go with it, like the image on the dust jacket of a book. I’ve dabbled in drawing from time to time, so I decided to try to draw something that might work as a illustration for my story. I sketched out my idea, scanned the drawing into my computer and the cover for “The Christmas Cat” was done. I uploaded the whole thing, words and a picture, to my Kindle account and then announced the publication everywhere that I could: Flickr, Facebook, my e-mail signature, and, finally, right here. I haven’t sold too many, but I have sold a few and I’ve got lots of other story ideas. I’ve already written a sequel to “The Christmas Cat” called “The Lost Kitten,” and that is also available on Kindle.

And there you have it. I’m writing and publishing and promoting stories about a man and his cat. It’s something I know about, thanks to Quint and Hedge and all their feline processors. If you get a chance, and have an interest, you can find the stories at Amazon’s Kindle site. Just search for the titles and you’ll find them. There will be more stories to come, and more blog posts, too, here and on the other blogs. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoy writing them.

Write About What You Know

That’s what I’ve always been told. Write about what you know. Sometimes it’s a mistake to ask yourself what it is that you know. What if you come to the realization that you know nothing at all? Luckily, I found that I do know a little bit about a few things. At least there are subjects about which I know enough to write an interesting blog post or two, perhaps as many as three.

Before Christmas of last year, I got the idea that maybe I could write a story. I had an idea for one that involved a man and his cat, well, kitten in this case. I know a little about cats and I’ve learned a couple of things about people, plus I have some personal experience being a person. So, I set out writing a story. I had the whole thing visualized, more or less, I just needed to make the words describe what happened and convey the message I wanted to deliver. It wasn’t nearly as easy as I thought it would be, but I managed to get it written; and it turned out just about as I had intended.

I had done some of that sort of writing before, many years ago; and had almost gotten to the point where I might even have gotten myself published. Unfortunately for my writing career at that time, other events occurred and I had to set it aside for a while. Everything changes as time ticks along, that’s how we tell that it has passed. I changed, editors changed, doors closed, and other doors opened. The whole nature of how we get our information changed from words printed on paper to words stored on computer hard drives and flash memory and displayed on a screen. There are still stories to be told, though, and readers desiring to be entertained and enlightened, we have simply begun to change the methods we use to communicate with each other. In some ways, it is easier to find a reader now than it has ever been. It is also easier to get a story published, and because it’s easier there are many more stories available to readers than there have ever been. Anybody can write a story and with a little computer savvy can find a place on the internet to make it available to a reader. Of course, not everyone can write a good story, but that doesn’t keep anyone from publishing their story anyway. How do you sort out the good stories from the other sort? And how can you cause a good story be found by someone who will appreciate it? I suspect it’s a bit of a treasure hunt for the reader. I know it’s a dilemma for a writer. Since I’m your typical starving artist, I get my books from the second-hand store or the thrift store. They are wonderful places to find books, but it helps if you know what you’re looking for. Ofttimes I am looking for specific titles to fill in a series that I’ve been collecting, but sometimes I discover a new author and that really is the ultimate reward for this sort of treasure hunt.

When I made the decision to pursue writing as a career, forsaking all other endeavors, I had to start from scratch. I began with this blog, since, as I said, I know something about cats. Soon thereafter, I started a blog about my car building and repairing adventures; and then I needed to write about what was happening in my life on a more personal level and so I started a blog about me. I enjoy writing all the blog posts, but even though each blog has ads included on the page, they don’t generate any significant income, and therein lies one of the primary problems with this “career.” It just doesn’t pay well, which means that it mostly doesn’t pay at all. And then I recalled that, at one time, a few years ago, there was the possibility of selling some short stories. So, I decided to give that sort of writing another try. The result, so far, has been two stories, both about a man and his cat. Hey, don’t laugh, they tell you to “write about what you know.” After I finished the first story, which I called “The Christmas Kitten,” I realized that, because Christmas had nearly arrived, I’d either have to wait until next year to get it published in any sort of print medium, or I’d have to post it on the internet somewhere.

Getting your story published on the internet is easy. Getting readers to pay for your story is not so easy. The reasons are legion. First of all, very few people know who I am and, thus, are not looking for stories written by me. Second, of the people who know me, only a very few would expect to pay for a story written by me. Third, most of the places on the internet that offer to publish your story, don’t offer a way for you to get paid by readers. The list goes on, but you get the idea. So, now I have to learn marketing, public relations, distribution, in other words, the publishing business. Help!! All I wanted to do was tell a simple story and exchange whatever value it has with someone who agreed that it was worth reading. That’s when I discovered Amazon’s Kindle.

I was aware of the electronic book as a product and knew that there are a few versions of the thing made by a several different companies. As I browsed around the internet, it looked to me like the Amazon product was the most accessible for someone like me. I looked through what others authors were offering and decided that I’d give it a try. I set up my account and then I discovered that each book or story offered should have an image to go with it, like the image on the dust jacket of a book. I’ve dabbled in drawing from time to time, so I decided to try to draw something that might work as a illustration for my story. I sketched out my idea, scanned the drawing into my computer and the cover for “The Christmas Cat” was done. I uploaded the whole thing, words and a picture, to my Kindle account and then announced the publication everywhere that I could: Flickr, Facebook, my e-mail signature, and, finally, right here. I haven’t sold too many, but I have sold a few and I’ve got lots of other story ideas. I’ve already written a sequel to “The Christmas Cat” called “The Lost Kitten,” and that is also available on Kindle.

And there you have it. I’m writing and publishing and promoting stories about a man and his cat. It’s something I know about, thanks to Quint and Hedge and all their feline processors. If you get a chance, and have an interest, you can find the stories at Amazon’s Kindle site. Just search for the titles and you’ll find them. There will be more stories to come, and more blog posts, too, here and on the other blogs. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoy writing them.

Hedge Gets Brushed

How I Brush Quint's Teeth

Decorating the Ceiling

The main thing about cats is that they are insatiably curious. Anything new must be sniffed, tasted and poked to find out of what use it might be. Usefulness for a cat falls into three categories: sleeping, eating and playing. Thus, any new object must be immediately placed into one or more of the categories of usefulness. For example, I would fall into all three categories since I provide warmth when sleeping with or on, I supply food upon demand, and, not only am I the provider of toys, but often the animator of them as well, in that I toss them about for the kitties to chase. This makes me very useful to Quint and Hedge.

Newness for cats can be either a newly acquired object that has been brought home from the store, an item that has never previously been part of the household, or it can be a toy whose existence has been conveniently forgotten and has now been rediscovered. In the case of the former, the categorization process must be engaged immediately. For the latter, the category has already been established, but newfound delight can be experienced as a result of the rediscovery process.

All of the previous information is quite pertinent to the upcoming season, that being Christmas. Over the years that we’ve been together, Carol and I have acquired a great many Christmas decorations, including a lovely artificial tree and lots and lots of decorations, some handmade, some purchased and a few that were received as gifts. Some of these decorations are quite unique and delicate. At Christmas time we enjoy unpacking all these things and using them to create a festive atmosphere in the house. Two years ago, when we first adopted Quint, we decided not the put up the tree so that he wouldn’t get himself into trouble by behaving in a way that is natural for kittens. The year after that, Hedge became part of our household, and so we applied the same logic and chose to forego the tree again. This year, we decided, once again, to take the pro-active, preventive route and left the tree in its box. At this point, we’ll probably continue this strategy indefinitely, more because we like our solution to the problem then for any mistrust of our now fully-grown cats.

Two years ago, I had this brilliant idea. Since our house has quite a high ceiling which is spanned by lovely wooden beams, I thought it might be interesting to decorate that ceiling, putting all the delicate decorations out of reach of the curious kitties, but still allowing us to enjoy them by simply looking up. It has worked out wonderfully. We like our decorated ceiling and the cats don’t get in too much trouble over the holidays. It’s also a challenge to find new and interesting ways to create that festive atmosphere, and still maintain our kitty-safe environment. Part of our responsibility in living with cats is to let them be themselves as much as possible and, yet, still maintain a shared environment that works for all of us. Decorating the ceiling has proved to be a nearly perfect solution to what could have been quite a problem. The only drawback in the scheme is that I have to be very careful not to fall off the ladder while I’m putting up the decorations. So, far, I’ve succeeded.

The Undercover Cat

Despite having a very nice fur coat, cats are heat-seeking little creatures. Quint is certainly no exception, so when he trots into our bedroom at around 6:00 a.m. each morning to fulfill his duty as Carol’s alarm clock, he’ll often end up crawling under the sheets and blankets of our bed to snuggle with us for a while before someone gets up to feed him. Once he settles into a warm spot somewhere near the small of our backs, he decides that breakfast can wait for thirty minutes or so and that an extra morning nap is the perfect thing at the moment.

After that thirty minutes of warmth and closeness, the backup alarm trots in. Hedge is the backup alarm clock. Once he realizes that Quint his again succumbed to the lure of the safe, warm people-nest, he jingles into our room and warbles a query to Quint who responds with an answering chirp and a lashing of his tail. Quint’s tail lashing is soon followed by Hedge’s leaping up onto the bed. This causes Quint to crawl out from under the covers and begin the morning game of Chase. Chase continues in and out of our bedroom until someone gets up and serves breakfast.

Throughout all this, Quint still carries out the primary alarm functions, the tail lashing, the dashing across the bed, the trampling of Carol and I, and the jumping onto the floor with a loud thump. Hedge doesn’t thump, or trample, due to the fact that he is so light footed that if it weren’t for the bell on his collar we would rarely know where he is. The only way we know that Hedge is on our bed is when he lies down and leans against us. When he jumps down, he makes almost no sound. But for the jingle of the bell on his collar and the occasional chirrup, you would never know he was around. You can be putting cat food into dishes in the kitchen and, seemingly from nowhere, suddenly there is a black cat rubbing against your ankles. Hedge, if he were allowed to go outside, would be the perfect hunter; a fast, silent and deadly killer whose prey would never become aware of him until his needle sharp claws had found their mark. He has a bit of the Cheshire in him, too, in that he appears and disappears at will. He sits within a shadow, completely concealed and perfectly camouflaged, until you see a pair of glowing yellow eyes peering at you out of the darkness.

This morning’s wake-up call was particularly memorable. After a lovely Thanksgiving get-together with friends and family yesterday afternoon and evening, Carol and I, after we had returned home, had stayed up late and watched a movie. This morning was a perfect morning for sleeping late and so we did. Quint and Hedge are understanding about this sort of thing, but only to a point. Breakfast must be attended to and indulgence of human sloth can only go so far. Quint had crawled into bed with us and fallen fast asleep, willing to be as slothful as his human companions. Hedge, though, was hungry and leaped up onto the bed to let everyone know that it was past time for breakfast. Quint began the usual tail lashing and Hedge commenced an attack on Quint’s tail as it writhed about under the blankets. I chuckled and surrendered. Hedge was right, it was time to get up and start a new day.

Unlocking the Kitty Code

I received a book recommendation a short time ago from, Rachel, an on-line friend and reader of this blog. She said that she was surprised that I hadn’t read “The Silent Miaow” by Paul Gallico. Not only hadn’t I read it, I’d never even heard of it. I love a good internet research project, so I began my search for information about this book. I quickly found it on Amazon.com and, after reading a summary, knew I had to have it. There are two versions of this book available; the original, which features black and white photography by Suzanne Szasz and her husband; and a more recent version with color photographs. I chose the original version and when it arrived I knew I had made the right choice.

“The Silent Miaow” is an instruction manual for cats written from a cat’s point of view. The author claims to have translated it from a manuscript written by a cat who he suspects is most likely Cica, the cat who owns Suzanne Szasz and her husband. After reading the book, I suspect that it was indeed authored by a cat. It has the ring of authority and authenticity that only one who is experienced in the field can lend to this sort of manual. Those of us who live with cats should be grateful that this information has been made available; those who haven’t read it, ought to waste no time in finding a copy of this book and absorbing this vital information.

Not only is “The Silent Miaow” as wonderful source of insight into how cats think, it is also a lovely collection of candid photos of the everyday life of a cat. So lovely, in fact, that, upon finishing the book, I immediately set my camera to “monochrome” and have been following Hedge and Quint around for the last couple of days snapping endless shots of them as they perform their daily routines. I’m finding that the black and white photos show more of the form and feeling of the cats without the distractions that come with all the pretty colors. It is also proving to be a superior way of capturing images of Hedge. It seems that the black and white setting works better for photos of a black cat.

Thanks to Rachel for the recommendation and thanks to Mr. Gallico and Ms. Szasz for the book. I’ve not only gained useful knowledge of my cats, but I’ve gotten a bit of artistic inspiration as well. This may well be the best $4.00 I’ve spent in a very, very long time.