Bubble the Cat

Writing Adventures: Inspired by a Cat

Friday, November 26th, 2010 | Bubble the Cat, The Writing Life, Writing Process | 2 Comments

I am replete with Thanksgiving goodness and back at work. My latest project, a potential story set during the Black Death, begins to take form as I work with it. As always, the ending and the beginning are clear…the middle of the story, the center that must hold it all together, had been eluding me…until today.

Today, I sat with my friend, Bubble, who happens to be a cat. One of my dear friends, Bubble’s mom, happens to be out of town. I am one of the people called on to feed Bubble the Cat while my friend is away. I have the morning shift, which is perfect, because the mornings are when I work best.

As all of you with animal friends and companions know, cats are a great audience. Bubble the Cat listens to my story ideas, and to the problems I have as I work through them. She sits on her paws, a bubble of fur, and blinks at me when I make a salient point. And over time, if I sit with Bubble the Cat long enough, in the middle of her quiet home, the problems with the story begin to melt away. One at a time, in a cascading stream, instead of holes in the plot, ideas gel that bring my story together, threads to tie the beginning of the book to the end, a bridge to carry my characters over the most difficult points in their lives.

I eventually find my way into the center of a story on my own, after I have stared at my notebook and screen long enough. But my visit with Bubble today seemed to grease the wheels of progress in my mind. Bubble the Cat has been my muse today, and I thank her. I gave her extra kitty treats as a reward. She blinked at me before she ate them.