An Author's Adventure

"A Dog Lover's Dream, A Cat Lover's Hell": Behind the Scenes*

*THIS IS AN ORIGINAL POST. PLEASE DO NOT USE OR REPOST WITHOUT PERMISSION.

I thought it'd be interesting to share some trivia about the story, as well as answer any questions you may have. I hope you're as excited about this as I am, so let's dive right in!

Q: What breed of dog is Sophie?
A: I'm not completely sure, but I definitely know that she's part poodle, hence the curly fur. And she's on the smaller side, so that means she could have any number of combinations, like cockapoo (cocker spaniel + poodle), maltipoo (Maltese + poodle), shipoo (shih tzu + poodle), etc...What I do know is that she's a small lap dog with white fur and brown splotches.

Q: Is Sophie a therapy dog?
A: No, Sophie is just a regular puppy—but she brings Meredith so much comfort and joy, she may as well be.

Q: Why does Meredith like dogs so much, and why does Alexis like cats?
A: With Meredith, having a dog is like a childhood-dream-come-true situation, whereas with Alexis, she simply prefers cats over dogs and regards the latter with a certain amount of disdain (Though I will say Alexis is also the type of person to joke about becoming a crazy cat lady). Meredith, on the other hand, either gives so much thought to how much she loves dogs that she forgets to consider cats, thinks that cats pale in comparison, or is wary of them for some reason. Given the way her character has developed (i.e, she has anxiety), I could see it being the latter instance.

Q: What was the inspiration for this story?
A: Part if the inspiration came from real life, but part of it also came from one of my random thoughts that was literally "What if there were two best friends where one of them hated cats and loved dogs and the other one hated dogs and loved cats?" You may be wondering which parts were real and which weren't, but hey, the author's gotta keep some things a secret! Oh, but the scene in Chapter 3 with the commercial? Yeah, that came directly from one day when I happened to walk in the room when a commercial just like that came on the TV, and I thought "NOPE, I'm not getting punched in the feels today." I do tend to complain about cliffhangers (Chapter 4) in a friendly-natured way in real life, too.

Q: What about the inspiration for the title?
A: First reason: It had a nice ring to it. Second: I wanted to have opposite themes portrayed in the title, like "Cats vs Dogs" and "Dreams vs Nightmares" (Except "nightmare" was too lengthy and didn't sound as catchy, so I changed the wording). Third: I was originally going to have more basic juxtaposition with Alexis being more focused on cats and lamenting over her friend's obsession with dogs. Now, though, I like the existing version better.

Q: In Chapter 2 when Meredith goes driving, does she think her best friend's response will be encouraging or condescending?
A: Meredith knows that Alexis would immediately encourage her, as any best friend would, but to her—in her anxious state of mind—encouragement isn't enough. The fear crowds out her thoughts and prevents her from thinking clearly, so even though Meredith knows Alexis cares about her and would show support, she berates herself for being scared in spite of this. To put it simply, Alexis would be encouraging, but it's almost as if Meredith was being condescending towards herself.

Q: None of the animals in the Chapter 3 commercial were dying...right?
A: Of course not! I hate those commercials just as much as Meredith because they're so sad, and there's no way I'd write something so needlessly upsetting. Plus, the realization Meredith has about rescue being prioritized over taking pictures to use for the TV ad makes sense to me. I mean, those commercials are designed to appeal to your feelings and persuade you to donate to rescue organizations, right? So if rescuing animals is their #1 priority, they'd focus on that first, and the pictures for the commercial afterwards. Heck, for all I know, the ad that Meredith saw could have saved old pictures and re-used them or something.
So, in short, no animals were harmed in the making of this story, fictional or otherwise.

Q: In Chapter 4, why is Meredith upset over a fictional dog?
A: Meredith isn't so biased as to believe there are no aggressive, dangerous, or mean dogs in the world. What she doesn't like, however, is the fact that Alexis let her own bias against dogs—which Meredith is disheartened by to begin with—leak into her writing. Meredith only noticed this because they're best friends, and while it made sense for the story, Alexis probably could have toned it down just a little bit. This was a more subtle point of the story—I always love going into more detail, but I had to keep it short. Or at least, short by my standards, haha!

Q: Why does Meredith have anxiety?
A: Originally, I was going to set up the story with Meredith's anxiety serving as a lead-in for her explaining to Alexis the reason she's so crazy about Sophie—basically one friend justifying their obsession with their pet to the other. Instead, it turned into a situation where Alexis comforted Meredith about her fears. It made Meredith's anxiety more real in the end, I think, as opposed to her trying to argue that she wasn't as obsessed over her puppy as she seemed. It also made Alexis develop into a more supportive, less stubborn person. Like any story, all of this could be expanded upon, but I'm happy with how it turned out. Another thing is that I'm pretty sure Meredith hasn't always had anxiety. I don't think she had it during her childhood, so something must have changed during her middle/high school years. What that specific event was, though, I have no idea. Man, for a story with only 6 chapters, some of this stuff is getting really deep!

Q: Why did Meredith initially lie to Alexis in the beginning of Chapter 5?
A: I think Meredith's response of "Nothing" is the result of her going on autopilot. It's embarrassing to be caught crying in any situation, even by a close friend, but more than that, it's something Meredith says knowing that it probably isn't too convincing. The most likely reason is that it's a habit she's gotten into when trying to cover up her anxiety in certain situations and force it back down. In the moment, Meredith may have even been worried about confiding in Alexis in the first place out of the possibility that her friend might not understand.

Q: How long have Alexis and Meredith been friends, and how did they meet?
A: At first, I was going to give them a simpler character backstory of being childhood friends, but as both characters developed, I decided on this: The girls met on their first day of middle school where Meredith was a new student. I think this fits better because moving to a new school could act as a catalyst for Meredith's anxiety, as well as build a strong, lasting friendship based on commonality and trust since the girls were entering their formative years.

Q: Is Alexis' writing at the end of the story about a ship between a cat and a dog?
A: No; it's more about the stereotype of the two animals being enemies—even though people think of them as opposites, they're still connected to each other. Think along the lines of "salt and pepper", "peanut butter and jelly", and..."cats and dogs".

This has been another chapter in An Author's Adventure. Stay tuned for next week!