THAT'S LIFE. . .(CUE MUSIC HERE). . .

Today was the first day since I started School Spirit where the words came slowly and I was worried about not meeting my quota. I knew what had just happened and I knew what was supposed to happen a few scenes down the road, but I didn't know how to get there. So I spent a lot of time pacing, thinking, and making quick and dirty notes. But the writing itself came very slowly. It was like pulling teeth (hey, that's catchy. I should write that down!).

But that's not what I want to write about here.

I was reminded of another of those mysterious aspects of writing that defy explanation. It is how life can often inform your writing when you least expect it. Here is my case in point:

One of my writing friends (Lara Zielin, author of Donut Days) has--as many of us do these days--a facebook page that I frequently check for updates on her life. She had posted
a link about how some mischievous computer geeks had hacked into a traffic caution sign and written "Zombies Ahead. Run!" Lara has a killer sense of humor and so, naturally, this struck me as very funny.

Today, as I was writing a scene between the main character and his best friend, who happens to be a computer whiz with a bit of a mischievous streak, I needed a joke to help build to the climax of the scene. Without consciously thinking of it, I remembered this story and worked it into the scene. Here's what I wrote (be kind: this is a first draft):

“You coming over after school?” Ben asked.
All I could think about was the pile of homework that I’d let go the past few days.
“Maybe,” I said. “I’ve got—“
“’Cause you know those signs on the freeway that tell you the road conditions?”
“Yeah?” I said.
I couldn’t help it; I was intrigued.
“I figured out how to hack into them,” Ben said. “So yesterday I told drivers to avoid 5
North because there were Zombies in Tustin.”
“Brilliant, Ben,” I said. “Remind me to come visit you in San Quentin. You’ll be the one going to the prison prom with the drug runner named Spike.”
Ben looked pensive for a moment.
“Vest or cummerbund?” he asked.

The two point I wish to make are these:

1) As writers, we borrow shamelessly and liberally from whatever is around us in life and use it as material in our work. Everything is on-limits. Furthermore, if we listen carefully to our muse, something that has been simmering in our subconscious recently might just bubble up and be exactly what we needed in a scene on a day when the words weren't coming so fluidly. So thank you, Lara.

2) And now a few words about comedy. First of all, the freeway sign story is funny all by itself. Secondly, I tried to write short sentences which quickens the pace, hopefully intensifiying the humor. Thirdly, I admittedly went for the easy laugh on the prison joke--guilty as charged (no pun intended. Yeah, right). Fourthly (is that a word?), individual words are often funny by themselves, and I tried to use a number of them in this passage. They are, in order: Zombies, Tustin, Quentin, drug runner, Spike, and cummerbund. I also pleased with the alliteration of "prison prom." It think it works.

Tomorrow's scene stars the titular ghost. The writing should come more easily, I would think.

And come on, admit it, the word "titular" is just funny.