How do I use personal experiences to create writing ideas?
This morning I went out to do my chores and noticed one of my long-time hens was crowing. Yes, crowing. Now I have seen this fine lady put out at least five or six dozen eggs. I am positive she is a hen. But what would make a hen crow?
After I completed my chores, I went inside and looked to google to answer my question. Google was beneficial, as always. I found a vetted article from Backyard Poultry. If you have chickens and have a question, the people behind Backyard Poultry know the answer or know someone who can help you.
What I found was fascinating. Hens produce all the estrogen and eggs for their life from the left ovary. If something happens to that ovary, the right will turn on. The right ovary produces testosterone and semen, resulting in a hen turning into a rooster. It is believed that this freshly turned rooster can produce offspring. The new rooster will produce rooster plumage and spurs. The failure of the left ovary usually occurs from an injury or when the hen is in an all-female group.
“Nature will find a way!” Ian Malcolm warned us. In Jurassic Park, amphibian DNA was blamed because amphibians can change sex almost at will. To me, this is fascinating because chickens are dinosaurs, or at the very least a branch from the dinosaur tree of life.
How do I use this type of information for writing ideas?
I brainstorm, bouncing ideas off writer colleagues and work friends. Remember, no idea is wrong.
I love to write science fiction and fantasy, so let’s start there. Dragons are dinosaur-like, could they also spontaneously change sexes? Why not? Dragons live in the realm of imagination. Most dragon myths came from the discovery of dinosaur bones, so the idea seems fitting. Dragons are sentient and wise. Why would a dragon make such a decision? Under what kinds of circumstances?
What if all the colonists on a far off planet were men – or women. And there is a definite need to procreate, but cloning is out of the question. Other planets with viable humans are light-years away, or communications have failed. Some of the colonists have to change. Would those colonists willingly choose? Would they be forced? A lottery, perhaps. Would it be advantageous to have more men or women? Is 50/50 the right ratio? Why or why not?
How about extending that idea to something less written about – mermaids and mermen.
Fish easily change their sex in a one sex environment. So what if one of the mermaids or mermen didn’t want to change? The change is expected, perhaps because of a ceremony? Would they run away? What could force them to change?
These ideas popped into my head all because one of my hens crowed. Imagine what you see, hear, taste, or smell today that could result in a unique story idea.
Links worth further review:
https://backyardpoultry.iamcountryside.com/feed-health/spontaneous-sex-reversal-is-that-my-hen-crowing/
Most photos are credited to Unsplash
https://unsplash.com