I’ve often been asked, “Where did you get the idea for this story” or “How do you come up with these crazy names”. I’m sure all writers or perhaps all creatives are asked similar questions.  Inspiration … where does it come from, and how do I get it?  When you have it, you’re in writing heaven.  When you don’t, writing purgatory.  I wish I had some set formula that allowed me to pull out amazing ideas at will, any time, any place.  But, sadly, I don’t.

I will say that a lot of my inspiration has come from my dogs, Bryce and Charlie. I have a little confession.  I talk to my dogs.  I call them silly names. I’ve made up a silly song about Charlie and I sing it to him sometimes when we’re out for a walk.  The silly names I call them have been used as character or object names in my stories.  But, up until now, I haven’t written anything explicit about either one of them.

In my last blog, I introduced you to a story I entered in Susanna Leonard Hill’s Valentine’s Day contest.  Not only did I submit an entry, but so did most of my critique group.  We helped each other strengthen our manuscripts, marveled at the uniqueness of our respective creativity and when it was all done, one of them (Jill Richards Proctor) suggested another contest … 50 precious words by Vivian Kirkfield. The challenge, create a story that is 50 words or less with a full story arc: beginning, middle and end.  I don’t know whether I should thank Jill or throttle her for putting that in my purview.

The inspiration for my story is my dog, Charlie.  Charlie is an Australian Terrier. This breed is bred to hunt and kill snakes and rodents.  Charlie isn’t discerning at all.  Pretty much if it moves, it’s fair game … cats, rats, rabbits, birds but not dogs.  He likes dogs. 

Before I reveal my entry for the 50 precious words contest, let me show you a few videos of Charlie which demonstrate where I got my inspiration.

Now, you can pretty much see where this is going, right? I hope you enjoy my 50 word story.  I’d love to hear your honest feedback. 

Hunter & Prey by Cheri Wong

Stealthy hunter, deadly quick,
stalks his prey through brush grown thick.
Hiding under fallen leaves,
scaly underdog believes
he can outwit cunning foe
but not if they go toe-to-toe.
Cagey lizard has one ploy:
drops his tail – a twitching toy,
distracting hound … mark gets away.
Canine hunter duped by prey.

Lastly, I shall leave you with this picture as I don’t want you to think that Charlie doesn’t do his breed proud.  My canine hunter isn’t always bamboozled by the twitching toy left by his tail-less prey.

Happy Valentine’s Day! As promised, here is my 211 word entry for Susanna Leonard Hill’s 5th Annual Valentiny Writing Contest.

The challenge is to write a Valentine’s story appropriate for children that is a maximum of 214 words. The theme for this contest is curiosity.

For more details and to read the other wonderful contest entries, pop over to Susanna Leonard Hill’s blog .

Jaina’s UFO

Cruising through space, Jaina came to a stop.
She thought, “What’s that object with two humps on top?
It’s unable to fly but it glides with no sail.
There’s a point at its base with a long, flowing tail.

I know who I’ll ask. He’s a space auctioneer.”
“G’pop, I found this in Mars’ exosphere.”
He studied the object, then shook his square head.
“Why don’t you ask the ring skaters instead?

Intergalactics skate Saturn’s ice rings.
Surely they’ve seen such fantastical things.”
She flew to the rings. She approached a skate corps.
“Excuse me, has anyone seen this before?”

No one had answers, so Jaina departed.
“I’ll go to the moon. That planet’s kindhearted.”
“Mr. Moon, have you seen this red floatie I found?”
Moon nodded, “On Earth, they are carried around.”

“I’ve seen numerous held on this one special day.
They’re exchanged by the earthlings … for what I can’t say.
That day’s drawing near. You should fly down to speak
to an earthling who’ll have just the answer you seek.”

The earthling she asked said, “I know, yes, I do.
It’s a red heart balloon. It means, Hey, I love you!”
Jaina stared at this object found light years above.
This beautiful heart was a gift filled with love!

Following my love of rhymes and my penchant for storytelling, I am embarking on a new chapter of my life.  It’s time to say goodbye to the tech world and journey into the world of writing.  I am following my heart and pursuing my passion and in doing so I hope to inspire others to go after their dreams as well.

Here’s my story

For over 28 years, I have been a software engineer in Silicon Valley.  Fresh out of college, I pursued a career that matched my skills and I excelled at it.  My career path actually began as a seed planted in my mind by a beloved uncle when I was just a child.  Having always been good at math in school, he planted a simple idea in my head: “You should be an engineer.” That seed germinated and took on a life of its own.

Computer science jobs were plentiful so it seemed like the logical choice for study. After graduating with a Bachelor’s of Science in Computer Science, I migrated to the west coast to begin an engineering career.

I have worked at Fortune 500 companies as well as startup companies. My engineering expertise has been utilized in a variety of different roles: software developer, software tester, technical writer, support and even trainer.  After trying out many different engineering roles, I finally reached the inevitable conclusion that I was not in the right career. None of my engineering jobs or roles invoked the passion and joy that I sought.

Now, I am journeying into the unknown world of writing; a world filled with new and exciting things.  I hope you’ll join me on this journey.