Sometimes the
darnedest memories raise their little heads and say, “Pick me! Pick me! I’d
like to be in a post.” In this case it was the memory of pigeons.
I once heard
that if you put an owl in your yard the pigeons will stay away because the owl
is a natural predator. It doesn’t have to be a live owl, just a good imitation
will do. When I lived in Arizona, we had a pigeon problem. They came in by the
dozen and the left their own personal little yard art signature on everything. Ick.
My husband
and I went to a local auction one Saturday and there was a lovely, large fake
owl, front and center. The eyes looked so realistic. I had to have it. Thankfully,
there was only one other person who wanted it but they didn’t want it as much
as I did. The owl had a new home, in our backyard.
We had a pond
which is where the pigeons loved to congregate. They’d do everything but put
their fingers (if they had any) in their ears and give us the raspberry. Pppffffffttt. Even the dogs didn’t scare
them because there was a fence around the pond and the dogs couldn’t get to
them. I’ll give you one guess where we put the owl. Uh huh. We set him in the
rocks by the pond.
The next day
I saw three pigeons sitting on the block wall. I swear, they sat there and
stared at the owl. Within moments they flew away. Later in the day, the same
thing happened again.
I sighed in
relief. Our pigeon problem had been solved and all it took was a fake owl. Just
in case, I watched again the next day. Same thing. The pigeons watched the owl,
probably shivering in fear, and flew away.
Then I
learned a sad lesson. Birds aren’t as dumb as you might think. A couple of days
later I went outside and there were pigeons lounging around the pond. Two of
them were actually sitting next to the owl, staring at it as though say, “Come
on, pal. Make my day. Just try to get me.”
You might
wonder what this story has to do with writing. You never know where a story
idea might come from. I learned a few things from this experience, and they can
be applied to pretty much any mystery. I learned that pigeons are afraid of
owls. I learned that if the owl never moves, the birds begin to catch on that
it’s probably not coming after them. I learned that even pigeons can flex their
muscles. There were practically taunting
the owl.
When you’re
writing a book you have to come up with a situation and causation. You have to
decide what motivates characters, whether it’s a good guy or a bad guy. Many
times you need a believable confrontation. How will the confrontation be
resolved?
I’m what’s
called a “pantser.” Basically, that means I write the book without an outline.
I sit down and start writing, figuring things out as I go along. I know how I
want the story to begin, and I know how I want it to end. Filling in everything
in the middle can sometimes be an issue. Sometimes the stories take off in an
unplanned direction, kind of like when I realized the pigeons weren’t fooled by
the owl. Sometimes my good intentions get in the way and I have to come up with
a different ending than I’d planned.
Sometimes you’ve
just gotta go with the flow. You’ve got to be flexible, ready to make changes.
I’ve read books where the ending was forced because the author couldn’t let go
of an idea. It didn’t work and the book suffered for it. Thankfully, revisions
are forgiving. Pigeons? I’m not so sure. I’d swear they were trying to give us
dirty looks, and I don’t think they felt very forgiving.
So how did we
resolve the pigeon problem? It was simple. We started moving the owl around
when the pigeons weren’t in the yard. The fake owl suddenly turned into an owl
with feet and the ability to move, at least in the eyes of the pigeons.
Have you ever
had to take a left turn in a book when you had your heart set on a right turn?
It happens. Go with it. Be flexible and ready to write what’s going to work the
best in your story. Be ready to move that owl.
Until next
time, don’t take any wooden owls, uh, nickels, and if pigeons are invading your
space, watch where you step. It could get ugly. Find yourself an owl.
CLICK HERE to
visit Marja McGraw’s website
CLICK HERE
for a quick trip to Amazon.com
Just out: One Adventure Too Many – A Sandi Webster
Mystery. Need a few laughs? This book might provide those.
