What do you know?

Ranking right up there with “Show Don’t Tell” is another author adage – “Write What You Know”.

And I know a little bit about chess tournaments. In fact, our family adventure last weekend involved one of these fun-filled occasions.

If you have never been to a chess competition, prepare to be enlightened. Unlike other “sporting” contests, the parents at chess tournaments are a pretty quiet bunch.

For example, you will never hear –

“Fork his rook, Johnny! Use the FORK!”

or

 “Woot! Who’s taking out your son with a Bugayev Attack? MY daughter – that’s who!”

or

“That’s right, Timmy – B-slap his queen!”

Trust me, you would NEVER hear this.

But it’s not because we are an especially well-mannered crowd – it’s because we never get to see any of the action. As our children are herded off to compete in the school cafeteria, we are confined to the gym – for roughly 37 hours. Okay, that’s an exaggeration – we are confined for only 9 hours, but trust me, it feels like 37.

And from the amount of time I’ve logged in various gyms, I know one thing FOR SURE. Our nation’s schools work very hard to save our tax dollars. How do I know this? Because they do not heat their buildings on weekends… Woe to the unprepared. If you wish to attend a chess event, be sure to dress warmly – as in, wear something you would consider appropriate for a stint at Everest Base Camp.

But what is even tougher to handle than the frostbite, is witnessing so much lost parental potential. Often, when I walk through those gym doors at 7:45 AM, I hang my head and sigh. Here we are – a group of strangers thrown together for the next 37 hours. We could be having one heck of a Texas Hold ‘em tourney. We could be playing Twister. We could be belting out “New York, New York” on a Karaoke machine. But no. Instead, we simply spread our collective frigid misery all over the gym floor.

Last Saturday was no different. I took my book to a corner and huddled in my mukluks.

Next time I’m taking Twister.

PROMPT: So, what do you know? I’m sure there’s something you know a lot about, and this is great fodder for writing. Do you have a particular skill? Give it to one of your book’s characters, and it will add authenticity to your work. For those in the visual arts – is there a place you know well? What about a feeling? Could you render those in stone or watercolor, perhaps? Show what you know. Create. Create. Create. You know the drill.