So. Adam always makes fun of Erika (A.K.A. “Human-Mom”) for having cat-friends who (let’s be real) are total jerks. Every other moment they are perched on her neck. Or under her elbows. Or on her upper-arms. It makes writing a challenge. Kind of like when the physical therapist has you walking with those weights strapped to your ankles. But at least they’re not always saying: “Tell me a story.”
So, this week, Human-Mom is getting her own back because Adam is in Bangalore, spending time with his adorable little monster of a nephew. We’ll call him “Human-Cat.”
Tell me Thor-Story
Anuja happened to mention the name “Thor” once and Human-Cat starts screaming: “Tell me Thor-story!” You would think he was being raised in 12th century Iceland instead of 21st century India
Okay. So here’s the problem. The plots of Marvel movies are really dull and convoluted. (Don’t @ me. I’m right.) They certainly don’t make for good children’s stories. But that meant thinking of new stories to tell… or did it? See… Getting a doctorate in English Literature sometimes means you know some of the original Thor stories. And those are hard to get out of your head when a four-and-a-half year-old is politely screaming in your ear and hitting you on the chest with his tiny arms. So Adam (Human-Uncle? we’ll work on that…) was not sure he wanted to tell actual Thor stories. But he was drawing a blank. So he decided to fall back on those actual Thor-stories. But that means “tell me a story” turns into “tell me a story about a drunken musclebound idiot who keeps getting outsmarted.”
Anyway now Human-Cat knows the story of how Thor tried to drink a horn of mead that was the size of the ocean. We are pretty sure he does not know what mead is, nor what a horn is. But Human-Cat is a beast that eats stories. And any story will keep the beast at bay. For a little while.
Script by Adam Katz
Cinematography by Erika Grumet
Starring Frob and Widget as Big Cat and Little Cat, Respectively
Executive Producer: Rocket
Description below.
Keeping the Little Monster Happy
The above story is part of an ongoing trend. When Adam enters the room, Human-Cat’s greeting to him is: “Tell me one story.” This is how you can tell his mother is a lawyer. “Tell me ONE story.” ONE. Is he going to be satisfied with ONE story?
Reader, he is not.
When “Tell me a Story” Becomes “Write me a Story.”
So, writers. Are there any kids in your life? Are you expected to tell them the best stories? Give them the best books as presents? Read them those books like five times in a row? Or worse, whenever you read them a story, do they clamor for a new one right away?
What do you do in these situations?
Description
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Two cats, a large orange and a small grey, are sitting on a cushion, discussing life. The large orange asks the little grey: “Ok. So what ARE the 2 rules of writing?” The little grey answers: “Rule #1: Sit on Human-Mom’s laptop when she’s trying to write. Rule #2: Sit on Human-Mom’s book when she’s trying to read.”
