SOMETIMES I'VE BELIEVED AS MANY AS
SIX IMPOSSIBLE THINGS BEFORE BREAKFAST.
(Lewis Carroll, from Through the Looking Glass)
To me, this is one of the greatest pleasures of being a writer, of having an imagination. What if...?
What if...I looked out the window and saw my Florida neighborhood was buried in snow drifts? And the snow was purple?
What if...the noises my husband dismissed as the house creaking was really an old lady sitting in a rocking chair in the attic?
What if...instead of scrambling over to their food dish, the tortoises stood up on their hind legs and walked over to it, with Larry letting Mrs. Larry have first dibs? (We'd actually have a better chance of the walking part happening than of L being so polite.)
Now, you try. What if...?
What if... I did what I want to do right now and I went back to bed. Aah, sleep. Ha!
ReplyDeleteOh, I love this quote. As a writer I'm never bored because I always have something going on in my head :)
ReplyDeleteEmily - sweet dreams! :)
ReplyDeleteAngela - that's so true, isn't it? We've always got a story of some sort playing out in our heads.
what if I blinked my eyes and ended up in Hawaii?
ReplyDeleteYou'd be very lucky, Mimi. :)
ReplyDeleteHi Madeline,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great quote and for getting my brain working.
What if I woke up and it was 1960?
Donna
You're welcome, Donna!
ReplyDeleteHmm, 1960? Go for it!
I love "What if...?" stories -- the essence of speculative fiction, right?
ReplyDeleteAh, but isn't all fiction technically "speculative," Milo? :)
ReplyDeleteI've always wondered if non-writer types have "what ifs" in their heads all the time like me. Almost anything can send me on a "what if" story/scenario/imaginary conversation. And I always wonder if it's the same for people who don't want to write, and it's just us crazy writer types who end up tapping into those things in our heads.
ReplyDeleteThat's a good question, Jocelyn! Hmm, what if a non-writer/artist swapped minds with a writer/artist for a day? Whoo wee! :)
ReplyDeleteOh, I love this quote! I was at Barnes & Noble the other night and was looking at the "Quotable Magnets," and this was one of them. I almost bought it, then thought I had already spent enough money in there for one night LOL. Thanks for the motivation! :)
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Julie! And I hear you about spending enough money in B&N.
ReplyDeleteWhat if I looked out of the window and every car was the same as my partners and every driver was my partner?
ReplyDeleteClever post. Got me thinking about doing a daily what if to kickstart the imagination!
Oh, Ellie, I don't know - that could be funny or creepy!
ReplyDelete