Raw Dragon Boogers

By Darvell Hunt

On my way back from an errand last week in Salt Lake City, my nine-year-old daughter and I were enjoying some rare time alone. She’s a talkative little girl and, just like me, she’s a thinker.

On our way home, we got into a discussion about whether or not there was such a thing as raw dragon boogers. If dragons truly do breathe fire, wouldn’t their boogers be cooked?

We finally concluded that if dragons breathe fire from their noses, then there could be no such thing as raw dragon boogers. If, however, dragons breathe fire only from their mouths, there was still a chance of them being raw. Or, more likely, they’d be medium rare, rather than raw or cooked (that was my addition to the conversation).

Writers don't think like most people. Our brains must somehow be wired differently than “normal” people. We writers tend to always ask questions like, “What if things aren’t really the way they appear to be?” Thinking like this often points us in the direction of a new story.

Stephen Fraser, a New York literary agent who attended last year’s BYU children’s writing workshop said, “Don’t underestimate the value of a good idea.” I like that. It seems that most best-selling books are more about great ideas than great writing.

I don’t know if my nine-year-old daughter will be a writer when she gets older, but her mind is certainly wired for it. She has those “weird ideas” that only writers seem to get. A chip off Dad’s old block, I suppose. I just hope that “block” isn’t part of my head. (“Blockhead”, get it? Okay, fine, it’s a stupid pun, so never mind.)