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Thursday, February 21, 2013

Thursday's Children - The Terrible, Awful, No Good, Very Bad Day



Confession time...this is so not the post I'd intended to write, but something happened yesterday.

Yesterday I had a terrible, awful, no good, very bad day. And like the lovely Raewen Hewitt, I was inspired by a less than fun experience.

You see, I had to go to the dentist. While my dentist and her hygienists are wonderful women, I have a deep and abiding fear of them - well, of any dentist, really. Earlier in the day, I told a friend that the only way going to the dentist could be worse was if the doctor had dressed up in a clown costume made of spiders. (Disclaimer: I don't actually know what that would look like, but it seems pretty horrific when I think about it.)

Spoiler alert: I was wrong. I was so terribly, terribly wrong.

I had to get an old filling replaced because I guess that's a thing. So I put in my headphones, cued up a mix I call, "Got Prozac?" (think Counting Crows, Damien Rice, Howie Day, etc.) and tried my best to check out.

I got the first shot of novacaine. The doctor waited the appropriate amount of time then started drilling. It didn't exactly work. So I got another dose. This one worked, but it also made my heart race and my body shake uncontrollably. I don't think I've ever shook that hard in my life. Nor have I ever felt that out of control. I was understandably freaked out. Nay...I was freaked the hell out. It was decided that I should probably have some nitrous to calm down so they could finish the work.

Guess who had a negative reaction to that? Yep. Complete with hallucinations. There was part of my brain that would tentatively raise it's hand and say, "Dude, it's cool. You're just hallucinating." The rest of my brain was stuck watching the terrifying images that would waver in and out of focus while I tried not to hyperventilate.

If you've stayed with me this far, you're probably wondering what any of this freakshow has to do with inspiration. Well, when I went to bed last night, I had nightmares. Basically an endless loop replay of my visit to the dentist. I did one of those things where I sat up straight in bed gasping for air. I'm not even convinced that I was fully awake when the dream started to fade and morph into something else.

It turned into a full blown scene from my WIP involving some super unfortunate faery magic. So I grabbed the notebook I keep by the side of the bed and started scrawling it down. At some point, my husband groaned and said, "I hear some writers write during the day." To which I responded, "None of the ones I know," and kept writing.

Now, I'm not saying that I'm glad this happened. Not even close. But because of it, I feel like now I have a good chance of accurately conveying the disorientation and terror involved with that sort of loss of control. Soooo...silver lining? Yeah, I'm going with that. And next time, they can just knock me right out. I'm not sure I need more inspiration like that.

Please check out the other Thursday's Children authors and their inspiration for the week! And feel free to join in - it's a fantastic blog hop!  Here's the code:

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Unfortunately, not all of the linky links are showing up and I'm not sure why. :(

25 comments:

  1. Thank God for silver linings!! (and husbands who totally get us)I do hope you feel better today. Can't wait to read the crazy, loopy magic in your book though!! :)

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    1. I'm so grateful for a hubby who gets me. I'm also grateful that whole experience is over!

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  2. I saw a quote somewhere recently which basically said that for writers, whatever part of their life isn't actually the act of writing is "research". I bet your research will pay off in a very powerful reader experience :)

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    1. If nothing else, it'll pay off in therapeutic writing. ;)

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  3. Perfect. Good assistance from the "forces". I cringe thinking about the dentist, and I'm waaaayy overdue. I'm sorry for your bad reaction-WOW! how terrifying. It's over and you got something you can use from the freak show. Nothing is Ever wasted. -especially for a writer. :))

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    1. I'll definitely be using it. :) Good luck when you go in!

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  4. Oh, no. You poor kid. What an experience. I hope you're out of pain, and doing better today.

    http://otherworlddiner.blogspot.com/2013/02/have-you-heard-about-presidents-wife.html

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    1. Thank you, Mia. :) I had to go back in tonight for them to take care of a rough spot that I didn't notice yesterday when my mouth was numb. But now I'm done. And *very* relieved. :)

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  5. Yikes!! That sounds horrible. Glad you could get some "inspiration" out of it. Luckily for me, I was blessed with iron mouth and have never had to take anything for dental work...just jump in with that drill and go. Sounds like that's a good thing.

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  6. Oh I so feel you - that is totally horrific, but good on you for using it as writing fodder. That magical juju twist sounds great. Oh and tell your husband that some writers might write during the day - but we all chase the muse in the middle of the night (there should be a support group for non-writing spouses).

    Have a much better week!

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    1. LOL! There *should* be a support group for non-writing spouses!

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  7. So glad you found inspiration in a difficult day...but terribly overwrought by your invention of the horrific idea of a dentist wearing a clown costume made of spiders!

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    1. Thanks!

      And...um...sorry. It was the combination of my worst fears.

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  8. Holy yikes! That. Is. Horrible. So glad you got something out of it inspiration-wise! But, jeez...

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    1. It sucked. A lot. But happily, it's over and everything's material. :)

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  10. I took my kids to the dentist yesterday. While they were getting their teeth cleaned, the receptionist made me a fresh cup of coffee. The dentist's office also has wifi, comfy chairs, and a working fireplace. I was all, "Dude, if it weren't for the drilling noise in the background, I could totally live here." The kids were not amused.

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    1. Not gonna lie, I probably wouldn't have been amused either. ;) But wow - your dentist office sounds spectacular!

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  11. LOL... that sounds like a horrific scene... what an episode of pain and torture. But hell yeah — definitely a source of inspiration for a scene in your WIP!

    I start my WIP with my MC being tortured... he has hallucinations, hears voices, and is an overall wreck. But perhaps I need to take a trip to the dentist to take this scene to the next level, lol.

    Thanks for sharing!

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    1. I feel your character's pain! Also, pretty sure my dentist has openings! ;)

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  12. I bet the scene is brilliant.

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  13. Oh my, what a horrible experience! But yeah for silver linnings ;) And I love your "None of the ones I know" reply! *remembers it for later* Hope you have a wonderful and dentist-free writing week!

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    1. Thanks, EM! I hope so, too! I've gotta make up some lost time! :)

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