Thursday, October 22, 2015

Old Dog, New Tricks, and Titles.

So, Otis is officially the Best Dog Ever. 
He highly recommends you consider adopting an older dog. They come with all Good Dog Software already installed. 
 Housebroken? check. Socialized? check. Gets along with household felines? check. Likes kids? check. Good manners when walking on a leash? check. Knows how to give high fives? check. Seriously, just bring him home and you have an Instant Best Friend, no additional hardware required.
Here he is being all cute and relaxing on his blanket after a visit to the dog park.

"You are not currently petting Otis, or feeding him treats.
Let's try to work on that." 

After a few months with us, he's very settled in. When he first arrived, he had a bit of anxiety during thunderstorms, but now even that seems to be relaxing. A few days ago we had a rather loud afternoon storm, and he just hung out on the couch, instead of trying to cram himself under my desk as he had on previous occasions. 

The one thing he hasn't been very helpful with is picking out a title for my manuscript. 
That is one of the most aggravating parts of writing, I find. 
I walk through the book store reading spine after spine, thinking, "Wow, that's brilliant." and then I get back to my own project. I stare at my list of potential titles. And they are all somehow, in their own ways, completely terrible. 
I was never especially intimidated by queries - condensing my manuscript down into a little less than a page is one thing. Coming up with five words or less that can grab a potential reader and make them want to read the jacket, or better yet, open to page one? Eeek. 

So that's where I am in the writing world, fellow scribes. 


2 comments:

Mirka Breen said...

As we contemplate adding a canine to our human and feline family, I worry more about how the felines will adjust than the dog. A puppy can learn, and an old dog who has been with kitties will know. But how will I prevent my cats from deciding that the addition has made home not homey anymore?
DH had this happen in his bachelor days, as has a next door neighbor. In her case, the cat who no longer felt at home in his own, decided to move into ours. I wonder how your cat(s) reacted.
I'm so glad you have given Otis a home.

Lily Cate said...

Everyone did amazing, actually. The dog had lived with a variety of small animals, but not cats, and the cats had never lived with a dog, and aren't fond of my in laws' teeny tiny dogs. We had a few days of sneaky/hiding cats, but over the last few weeks, they've all settled in nicely. The younger (and bigger) cat and Otis actually take naps together now, and both cats and dog will sit on the couch together, with a little space.
I think the combination of a very relaxed and generally quiet household, along with a very calm dog and friendly cats made it a pretty smooth transition.