Bat Appreciation Day & Other Unusual Holidays

There are many unusual holidays in April. Whether you prefer to write mysteries or romance, thrillers or fantasies, science fiction or historical fiction, I'm sure you can find one of them that catches your eye and causes storylines to start running through your mind.

On Bat Appreciation Day, will you put bat houses up on your land? How many chores will you get done on Blah,Blah, Blah Day? What wild guess will you make on Take a Wild Guess Day?

Bat Appreciation Day - Bats are feared and loathed by many people. The way they have been portrayed in fiction is the cause of a lot of this. Bats are very helpful to people, though, and their presence should be welcomed, especially if you want to rid the area you are in of mosquitoes. On this day, April 17, do some research on the bat. You will learn they are not filthy disgusting animals; they clean themselves more often than cats do. You will also learn many more amazing and interesting facts about them.

I know it is tempting to portray bats as dark and evil in fiction. Why not try something different, though? A bat once flew into my bedroom. It had become trapped in the attic and found its way into my closet. It swooped out when I opened the closet door. I'm not sure who was more surprised, me or the bat. Anyway, I captured it by throwing a towel over it, then I returned it to the outdoors. Write a fiction story about a bat that finds itself trapped in a room. Write how the bat discovers that not all people are bad, just as the person discovers that not all bats are to be feared.

Blah, Blah, Blah Day - You know all those chores you have been putting off day after day after day? What about all of the jobs left undone? Are there things you really need to do that you've been putting off, things like losing weight, start an exercise program, read a book? Well, this is the day to get busy and get those things started or accomplished.

Your character finally decides to tackle the long list of jobs that only keeps growing longer. There is something that has been shoved down in the job jar that isn't a job. Your character has no clue where it came from, nor what it means. Is it good or bad? Scary or funny?

Take a Wild Guess Day - This holiday falls on April 15, but it doesn't mean you are supposed to take a wild guess on your taxes. Fill a jar with marbles, and have people take a guess at how many are in the jar. Watch a murder mystery and see if you can guess who the guilty one is. Guess at what the day's weather is going to like. Maybe you'll get it right.

Write a story about this holiday and see if you can come up with a great reason for this day to have been created.

That Sucks Day - Why was April 15 chosen as the day on which to celebrate That Sucks Day? This is usually the day when taxes are due. It is the day the Titanic went to her watery grave. This is also the day that Abraham Lincoln was assassinated.

Write a story about a horrible fictitious event that happens on April 15.