By Charlotte Hinger
The story of "A Dog in The Manger" is ancient and comes to us from Aesop's fables. It refers to someone who has no use for something but prevents others from enjoying it. The dog in this picture can't eat hay, but he barks and snarls and snaps and keeps the cattle and the horses having access to their food.
It's an attitude. I can't use it. I don't need it. But I'm not going to let you have it either.
A while back I gave another writer access to my research about Nicodemus Kansas. It was the pits to dig up all of this information. It involved hours of microfilm and on-site physical searches for documents buried in small town Kansas historical societies. I put this research to good use and was richly rewarded for my efforts. My academic book, Nicodemus, was published by Oklahoma University Press and took second place in the International Westerners' best book competetion. My novel, The Healer's Daughter, was a finalist for the High Plains Book Award, second place in the Will Rogers Competition, and won a Kansas Notable Books Award. Award winning articles and short stories also evolved from this research.
You would think that would be enough reward to satisfy the greediest of writers.
But no! Deep in my heart I knew the biggest ultimate book was one I was not qualified to write. It would be an biography about E.P. McCabe, an African American who played an outsized role in shaping Nicodemus. I lacked the training, the skill, the brains, and the confidence to write a book about this early settler.
A man got in touch with me. His name was Caleb Gayle. He wanted to write an biography about E.P. McCabe. It was hard for me to part with my information. Information I could not use. I was ashamed of my dog in the manger attitude. I overcame it because I knew Caleb was from Oklahoma and that was the heart of McCabe's life. My research about Nicodemus was a minor contribution to the real story. The most important aspect of McCabe's life was in Oklahoma.The man wanted Oklahoma to be an all-black state and believed he should be the governor.
Caleb Gayle's book, Black Moses, was long-listed for the National Book Award.
My Dog in the Manger attitude is only one of many undesirable traits I've discovered I possess in my long journey to become a writer. One of the heartbreaks of characterization is the realization that I understand all too well peoples' flaws that drive plots.
