Imaginary Friends

Ever have one of these? I think at one point or another all kids have. I had one as a child. Anyway, I was reading a book of records that I got last year, and there was a man in Wales who had an imaginary friend he tried to sell on ebay, and the top bid got up to $3000! He sold this imaginary friend because he was 26 years old, and felt he had outgrown it. I remember my grandma telling me about my aunt's imaginary friend she had when she was about 4 years old. She named him Bushy. LOL! My ma didn't have an imaginary friend. Ma was born an adult. Because she never had one, I think she didn't understand that I did. She actually used to make fun of me because I had an imaginary friend. But from the time I was 7 years old until I was about 10, I had one. After I turned 10, I found another use for my imaginary friend, I put her in stories. Though if they had had ebay back when I was 10 years old, I might have thought to sell her, just to see what kind of bids I would get! LOL! But heck, if you have an imaginary friend you don't know what else to do with, there's some ideas. I had no choice but to outgrow mine! Ma wouldn't let me carry them over to my teenage years! LOL! So, I kept them all in my stories. That was the best idea I could think of. That way, I could in a sense keep them, without talking to any of them.

I wonder how many writers actually have kept their imaginary friends out there, just not act like they are real people. Instead just keep them in their stories and stuff? Really, it's more than you'd think! I turned my imaginary friend into a real character for my stories. My most recent creations are Davy, because I like animals. Candi, was a character I dreamed up during a nap one day in 1994. I basically based her on myself. I still use her to this day! Gonna have to cut her hair though. LOL! Lisa is a friend of Davy's, but in some ways I base her on myself too. Now, these characters were not real imaginary friends I had, but they would have been if I hadn't discovered that I like imaginary friends better as story book characters. That's actually more fun. Gives them an actual face to put with the name! But what I like doing before I create a story is I like to act them out, think about how I want the events for the story to go, and then write them down. Though I haven't had a story idea in a couple of years! That's a bummer!! But anyway I tend to sometimes act like these characters are real when I am thinking up new story ideas. But this act has allowed me to come up with some amazing stories over the years! Stories that people say they can really relate to.

I am hoping that when we move, I can have an extra room available to go into, sit down and just think about nothing but story ideas! I'd need that! No TV, computer, pictures on the wall, nothing in that room, just a futon maybe to lie down on, and think. I want no distractions whatsoever! I am hoping to move soon out of this tiny apartment, and into a larger one. Hopefully with a third room.

Well, there's my thought for the day. I was reading about this subject and I just thought that was interesting, brought back some rather good memories!