Old Dogs, New Tricks

Due to aging Oscar's bathroom misadventures, we decided a few months ago that all the dogs would begin spending the night together in our washroom, which has a tile floor. We put pillows in there, one larger than the other two. The larger one was designed for our bigger dog, Rocky, the smaller pillows for Oscar the dachsund and little Scrunch (origin unknown). The first night my husband herded them into the washroom, they were confused. The second night, less so. By the third night, they ran in without begin told. By the fourth night, Oscar had discovered that if he voluntarily went to bed before the other two, he got the big pillow.

I'd never thought of learning a life lesson from an old dachsund. But after watching him adapt and strategize, I realized I might take notes.

I can learn new routines. When I realized at the premiere of "True Blood" that I was expected to go through the press line instead of sneaking into the theater along with my family, I had a moment of sheer terror. This was so far outside my comfort zone it wasn't even in the same galaxy. But HBO had assigned a handler to me, and she explained the process to me so quickly and simply that I really felt comfortable about the whole thing . . . or at least I felt as though I could do it without hyperventilating. Now I know the procedure, and I can do it again; in fact I have, at ComicCon.

This week I'm going to learn a new set of skills. I'm going to do pitch meetings in Hollywood. Probably for nothing; that's how most such attempts work out. But it'll be something else I know how to do, and if I have to do it again, I won't be scared.

Writing every book is a new experience, too, and I think most writers would agree. Even for writers who have to fulfill house requirements, there's great leeway; and since there's no right or wrong way to write a book, there's always room for improvement. Writers who stop learning are like sharks that stop swimming.

That's a lot to learn from a dachsund.

Comments

[Dana Cameron]

Hooray for Oscar, and for all the writers who suss out the lay of the laundry room! Things change so quickly that we need to be very nimble indeed--but that's part of the adventure.