Taxonomic nomenclature can be an interesting topic. I always assumed that a bat was was a rodent. After all they are small fury creatures and, aside from the wings, they do look kind of like mice. Now that I have started this blog post with that assertion I feel a bit silly making it in the first place but this is the one I am going with.
In one of my myriad of ideas, that may not pan out, was of a Rodent Federation. All these species are there and they perform various functions. Phillip Pullman had armoured bears – I want armoured Capybara!
The idea started life with a young woman discovering her pet guinea pig can talk. The guinea pig becomes her go between to a magical world. This was an idea that came to me when I was…younger. I say it that way because I honestly don’t remember how young.
If I ever finish that novel the guinea pig, Lenonn, will no longer feature – and yes he was named after a rather minor Babylon 5 character! That plot point didn’t really work for me. That sentence would be far more convincing if the novel in question was done – but no it is caught up in endless redrafting.
Nevertheless with writing very little is wasted. Ideas that can’t be used in one place can be slotted into another – and when researching you can find that the assumption you though you knew was wrong – so no bats are not rodents – the next question is what distinguishes a rodent from other mammals?
I just wanted to say that I have checked this post. I really have. Unfortunately my particular combination of dyslexia and dyspraxia makes it really hard for me to spot typos. Please enjoy and I’ll try not to make too many errors.
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