Yesterday I spent 4 1/2 hours at the roller skating rink with my second grade daughter and her friend. They were absolutely delighted to spend the afternoon skating and I got a lot done. I also I learned a lot during this time. Here are some of my observations:
People don’t look as curiously at you if you have notebooks and pencils at the skate rink instead of your laptop. I had my laptop last weekend and felt like an exhibit in the zoo. No problem with the spiral notebooks, though.
It is possible to block out disco lights and blaring pop music. The pop music was completely foreign to me. If they’d been playing 70s and 80s stuff it might have been harder to stay focused. I did get distracted when they played the Hokey Pokey. In fact, I think I still have it going through my head…
When your daughter says, “Mom! Look at me!”, you must look. Look and smile and wave. Otherwise, she’ll look behind her as she skates to see if you’re looking, and she’ll fall down like a block tower.
Put your feet up in the plastic booth you’re sitting in. Because you can get hurt by rollerblades, even if you’re not on the skating rink. Trust me. I still don’t understand how this one child’s spectacular fall (he wasn’t hurt, but brother, I was), caused him to end up under my booth. Somehow I could hear his rollerblades connecting resonantly with my shins over the rock music.
Bring lots of change. My daughter and her friend went through about $10 worth of drinks, chips, and candy at the concession stand. I finally just put a pile of ones and change on the edge of the table so I could continue writing instead of being a human ATM.
People at the roller skating rink are excellent extras for your novel. I saw this mom with the most incredible tan. Now, I know I live in North Carolina, USA. I know it’s been 80 degrees the last few days. But honey, that tan wasn’t normal. She was probably just that dark in January. I’m sensing a tanning bed fanatic….just the lady I need for some local color in my current mystery.
So to all the parents out there who are looking for a large block of writing time on Memorial Day weekend, consider taking your kid and their friend roller skating. I got 3200 words written and some outlining and editing done. Give it a go.
Wow! That’s a lot of writing done! Glad you were able to block out the lights and music… Hoping I can block out the good weather today so I can get something written!
I’m about to take a break (from all that fun reading) and will head to the Farmer’s Market for my walk. That’s another great place to gather ideas for a potential character’s appearance and/or behavior.
Patricia
3200 words and duty as an atm. Impressive!
My three-year-old granddaughter wants me to take her roller skating. She did once, with her older sister, but reportedly she only made it once around the ring, according to her mother. So I’ll stick with playgrounds for now. I envy your productivity and your ability to write even in such a frenetic setting!
Julie Lomoe
Julie Lomoe’s Musings Mysterioso
Don’t know if you’re headed in this direction, but this is a fantastic magazine article.