A Married Couple, an Argument & a Pumpkin on a Planter
Where did you get the idea for your children’s book?
What do you get when you have a married couple, one big argument, and a pumpkin on a planter?
Would you believe me if I said a children’s book?
Where did you get the idea for your book?
It’s the question I’m asked by students at every school and in every interview. “Where did you get the idea for your book?”
I answer honestly:
“Someone kicked a pumpkin off my porch. I imagined the pumpkin grew wings and flew to a different world. A world I created!”
When adults ask, I give an honest answer but with a little more meat on its bones.
The day the pumpkin flew was a bad day. My husband and I were arguing on the front porch, fiercely yelling back and forth. He was mad, and I was annoyed. Words would not suffice.
All of a sudden, Alan lunged, shifting his weight to one leg. His back foot flung forward, and with a loud wallop, it collided with a pumpkin propped on top of a concrete planter.
The pumpkin soared off the planter, through the air, and landed with a dull thud in the yard.
The pumpkin grew wings.
Just then, our porch fight became a catalyst for creativity.
While Alan’s senses were momentarily led by his emotions, mine replayed him kicking our pumpkin across the yard. In doing so, I accessed a part of my creative mind I often push aside.
What I saw was something from Alice in Wonderland.
As the pumpkin soared through the air it grew wings and flew to another world. A magical place where zebras had polka-dots and kangaroos said moo.
The details formed a deeper narrative.
Kids giggle when they hear the story about the day a pumpkin grew wings. Alan and I smile too. Not because it’s funny or silly, though that’s valid.
Rather, because the true story is so far-fetched: a married couple, an argument, and a pumpkin on a planter combined to form a unique new world for kids and adults alike.
An opportunity to write.
Each unexpected moment is an opportunity! Don’t miss it.
Whether you’re angry enough to make a pumpkin fly or shocked because you witnessed it, allow it to inspire you to tell your story!
