On Angry Birds and the New Author

On a recent airplane flight, I found myself as usual feeling crammed in the coach section, hot, and too distracted to read.  My husband played a computer game on his iPad, which lasted about five minutes until I borrowed it to play it myself. (Typical marriage thing).

 

I’ve been hearing of “Angry Birds” for a while.  Once I mentioned my books available as ebooks, and a friend said, “If I’m not working all I do on a computer is play “Angry Birds.”

Not much time passed before my husband downloaded the game on my iPad with the little irritated birds and the Rio version.  There I was, happily crashing structures down on evil green pigs, monkeys’ and freeing caged exotic birds.

Since I tend to analyze almost everything, I wondered why I waste time playing this game.  Or is it really a waste of time?  There’s something cathartic about feisty little obnoxious birds used as enthusiastic demolishers.  And when you win, they cheer for you.  Sure, it’s silly, stupid, and just challenging enough not to throw down in disgust, so it’s good short-term entertainment.

Now what could this silly computer game have to do with the new author?  I see it as a “brain break.”  Sometimes our imaginations need breaks.  Such innovations do the imagination for us, like music videos.  When I hear a song and when I see it on video, it’s usually a different effect.  When I’m down with a migraine, intolerant of light and sound, I turn the volume off on my iPad and play “Angry Birds” for a while.  It’s not a cure, but it gives me something mindless to do while otherwise feeling miserable. 

New authors, I’m not suggesting you should all get “Angry Birds” and let it take over your life.  Everything is moderation, and this little game is a bit addictive….until the next new fad comes out.  But sometimes our brains need a break, and be it a computer game or watching a film for the hundredth time, there’s nothing bad about a brief imaginative rest.