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My son- the Editor!

I have fired him 3 times

By Rose Loren Geer-RobbinsPublished 3 years ago 4 min read
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My son- the Editor!
Photo by Jaredd Craig on Unsplash

When I was 39, I decided that I wanted to be a writer. Not any writer- a published writer! Well, now I am 40, and my son is making me question my goal.

Let me start at the beginning; my youngest son is the main inspiration for my book- not the characters per se, but the theme behind the book. He has a unique way of looking at the world and questioning theories and accepted beliefs that ordinary people take for granted. For example, what makes a person evil? Is it the person's action or the person him/herself? What makes one crime acceptable and another punishable by death? Who decided what the punishment would be? If the death penalty had never been on the table for murder, would we still believe that it was an acceptable form of punishment? This is not to open a debate on death row, just an overview of how his mind thinks things through.

Enter in me- genuinely trying to put pen to paper on a book. I have most likely six notebooks of half ideas that never seem to pan out for a book. Books on my life, books on my military experiences, books on my family (names changed to protect the guilty, of course), books on love and divorce (because I have had my fair share of those), anything and everything. Nothing worked out because I had nothing really to say. Until we went to dinner one night and starting talking about death. What is death? Why do religions have different theories on death? Has anyone ever cheated death for real? I love these conversations with him, for my personal belief is death is the next great adventure. Don't judge; it is a peaceful thought to me.

One thought popped into my head, who manages death? Is there a book written somewhere, and there is a secretary dispatching angles or death agents out to come down and pick us up? Do the death agents have competitions on who can collect the most souls in a day? Do they have regions that they work with like Jane has North America, Bill has Africa, and Cory takes the lower half of Asia?

Also, do you get to chose when you die what your next adventure is? Like, I am pretty sure that my mom would want to go ahead and head to heaven, but I think I would like a 'do-over.' Do we get the choice?

Any-hoo, this started the beginning of a book that I have made progress on. 6 pages down- I am on a roll! My son and I usually take a break every evening and talk through a concept that I am working on, and I am always engaged in these conversations as a good parent should be. So, please believe me when I tell you that I DO NOT like my son, the editor right now. We are in a heated argument on the look of my main character. Not the personality, not the tone- the damn look. I wanted him to be a bit darker, with smokey gray eyes and black hair. My son says that it is not believable. What?!?!?!? How is that not believable- I made the damn character up. I think he can look any way I want him to.

To be fair, I didn't REALLY make him up; he is based on a person that may or may not have lived thousands upon thousands of years ago. But still, I haven't read any recent books on his life; he is just a side story on what not to do in life. So, I can take a little artist's freedom in his eye color.

My son is ignoring me now; I am trying to lure him with the smell of dinner- but he is not biting. So maybe tomorrow we can sit down and readdress my book. I should probably ask for a mediator to come over and help mitigate the arguments.

Smokey gray eyes? Really? That is what is going to break this book?

This is my journal entry from March 2021. My son won. The book is sitting on the shelf, collecting dust as we speak. I have since started a new book on a secret society of writers who protect the Book of Shadows.

What is the Book of Shadows? It is a book that contains our past, present, and future- written by one family over the last ten generations. They can predict everything and write it all down in this book and then- never tell anyone. Someone steals the book, and a secret society of writers has to find it and save the world.

That is the brief overview- I promise the book is better. Unfortunately, my son is not buying into this concept any better. However, late last night, when I was talking about a particular scene, he said, 'That might be cool'.

I will take it as a win! Maybe one day, I might even get it published! Then, I will dedicate the book to him.

'To my son- you are still fired!'

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About the Creator

Rose Loren Geer-Robbins

One does not simply become a famous writer! It takes many hours before the sun comes up and even more when the sun sets. I am never sure what world I am living in, the one that I am writing about or reality.

www.wannabehistorian.blog

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