I’ve been watching some episodes of the “crime-procedural” TV series Bones. Some of the episodes are pretty well written, atlhough it’s inconsistent. But there was a great line. The main eponymous character, nicknamed “Bones,” writes novels as a sideline to her work in forensic anthropology. In a season one episode, she gets caught working on a novel by a coworker, Hodgins. Dialogue:
Hodgins: “I recognize that look.”
Bones: “What?”
Hodgins: “You’re writing another book! When you write, you get this stunned look on your face, like you stuck a fork in a toaster. Am I in this one too?”
Bones: “You weren’t in the last one.”
I had to pause the video and laugh at this. I love how this captures what happens to people who try to write. That it’s not, in fact, a particularly pleasant experience, but that, like sticking a fork in a toaster, it’s an unthought-out, impulsive exercise with unexpected consequences.
