On being inspired by COVID-19

Development work for The Munchies by Tim Warnes | Illustration © 2011 by Tim Warnes

“What the world needs now is love, sweet love.
It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of.
What the world needs now is love, sweet love.
No not just for some, but for everyone.”

— Burt Bacharach

What the world needs now is love, sweet love.

That’s true. That’s always true.

But I’m hoping it also needs this: a dysfunctional family of anthropomorphic hamsters.

 At the start of 2020, I had a plan.

It did not involve COVID-19.

During the first quarter, I was going to re-evaluate my business and develop a strategy to help focus my attention. (That’s how I came up with my guiding principle: to connect adults with kids through stories worth sharing.) I had also scheduled time to write (including this blog), and develop some of my story seeds.

Regular readers will know that I liken the process of writing to growing a plant: a seed of an idea pops into my head, and I ruminate on it.

Then it gets put away in the deep recesses of my mind to germinate.

Every now and then, I pull it out, and very gradually, it begins to grow and change. The process applies equally to well to my story attempts, as it does to these blog posts.

So, a few days into the social distancing measures (when I was showering), a story seed idea popped back into my head. Why - or how - that happens, I don’t know. I’m sure there’s a scientific explanation somewhere. I can’t explain it, but its resurfacing was unexpected - and welcome. 

“The air is full of ideas,” Henry Ford once said. “They are knocking you in the head all the time. You only have to know what you want, then forget it, and go about your business. Suddenly, the idea will come through. It was there all the time.”

As a man of faith, I’d say it was the Holy Spirit, prompting me to pick up this idea (from 2011!) and give it a little TLC - which makes me really excited! All I know is, the idea has rapidly developed. It has not been forced. I’ve worked hard on it, but it has flowed.

It’s a response to the pandemic crisis - and its associated problems, which affect us all, young and old alike. I want to acknowledge what we are experiencing and use it as a springboard to write something relevant, but positive and entertaining. The result has pathos, drama, humour - and a whole lot of love. I’m so excited!

 Meet the Munchies.

I’m writing it in diary format, from the point of view of Gus Munchie. It was always going to be about his chaotic family life. Now, the pandemic has given me an anchor point: Gus is in lockdown with his family - Mama and Dad Munchie, and little brother, Lunchbox (a.k.a. Squeaky-Stinks).

 

Development work for The Munchies by Tim Warnes | Illustration © 2011 by Tim Warnes

 

So you see, Tony’s not your average dad. But, then again, neither is he your average hamster.

It’s amusing to watch a hamster to stuff its cheeks, true. I once got Stinks to squish five marshmallows in his cheeks at once. And not the regular ones. Those giant American ones. It’s harmless fun for hamsters. We enjoy storing extra food away. To quote Your Perfect Hamster, ‘No matter how much you feed him, he will not overeat.’ 

They’ve never met Fat Tony.

Gramps says Dad used to be a long-haired hippy hamster. But now his fur’s all patchy and thin.

“What are you staring at?” says Dad.

“Your fur,” I say. “You’re going bald. You realise if you go completely bald you’ll look like a naked mole rat?”

Naked mole rats are like the nudists of the rodent world. They go about their lives, naked and free. How weird is that? In Hamsterdom, it’s the done thing to be fully-furred. 

“Imagine if I was a naked mole rat,” says Dad. “I’d get to walk about starkers with my — ”

“Tony!” interrupts Mama. “That’s enough!”

I still have that picture in my mind. It will haunt me forever.

 

Many families have been isolating and resources for many have been severely stretched. That’s why I have decided to self publish The Munchies in daily instalments online - for free - hopefully before the end of May. 

(I hope to record a narration, too, because I love listening to audio books, and this will be fun to read!)

Here’s another excerpt:

 

“Coronavirus is ruining my life!” I cry.

‘Get over yourself, Gus,’ snaps Dad.

“I hate you!” I shout, slamming my bedroom door.

I don’t really hate Dad. It just sort of slipped out. Munchie Lockdown’s doing my head in. Why can’t things just go back to being normal again?

Oh yeah. We were never normal in the first place.

 

I hate what we’re going through as a global family right now, but I welcome the opportunity for me to try something new. I’ve always fancied writing longer children’s fiction. If The Munchies was in physical form, it would be an early chapter book: text-heavy but with plenty of illustrations. 

This is my attempt to bring a few moments of light relief to families in isolation and locked down. If you’re new to my blog and would like to make sure you get to see The Munchies when it eventually launches, please:

 

Sign up using the form at the bottom of the page, or

Email me and I will add you to my subscribers’ list.

 

Gus Munchie usually has the last word, so I shall leave you with him:

 

I wonder if anyone will ever read this diary? I feel like it might lead the young and innocent astray. I probably have a moral responsibility to portray a more positive role model.

But where’s the fun in that?

 

Stay safe, friends!

SourcesWhat the World Needs Now - lyrics by Burt BacharachThe Munchies by Tim Warnes (previously unpublished 2020)