I woke up Thursday at a loss. Honeydew Ever After is in another resting
stage, waiting to be emailed to one of my readers when she’s ready. The twenty pages I’ve written on my next tome
haven’t grabbed me yet. I wanted to write but I needed a topic.
I
pondered, and realized it had been a long time since I submitted a blog post to
South Shore Living Magazine, so I decided to write about a restaurant/pub that opened
a year ago in our town. When visitors arrived last fall, it was brand new and we checked it out
together. Since then, we’ve ignored our
constricted cash flow and eaten there two more times, first for our daughter’s
birthday and then for our anniversary. Each
delicious meal left us craving another visit. All I had to do was describe the food
and decor to come up with a post. Done and done.
My point? When you
get stuck, write about something you like. Yesterday, I chose to write about a restaurant we’d enjoyed. Had I not though, I could have written about
the calendar page beside me, open to a photo of four bottles, filled with
flavored vinegars—colorful glass containers glimmering orange, purple, yellow
and red on a rustic wooden table, amidst rose petals and sprigs of lavender.
If I’d been stuck later in the day, I could have written
about the tart smell of the farmer’s market McIntosh apples I bought earlier,
because our window of opportunity for apple picking seems to be closing and I
didn’t want to miss out. I could have described
the meatballs in red sauce—gravy if you prefer, bubbling away on the stove, the aroma of fennel, garlic and basil, conjuring up a long simmering, early autumn Sunday, reappearing as leftovers on a weekday afternoon.
I could have told you about my memory of the cinnamon
and butter scent that wafted through the house when I made a newly
discovered recipe for apple shortbread bars for the senior breakfast this past Monday—or
my last green tomato hanging on the vine, blushing with orange tints as it struggles to ripen before the first frost. . . as
they say, the list goes on and on.
This exercise taught me two lessons. There is always a topic out there, and, “Write what you know,” works well, but “Write what you love,” tastes, I mean, works better.
What do you write about when you get stuck?
Happy weekend all!
14 comments:
I'm on my way out to the garden to rescue the last tomatoes hanging on the vine, blushing with the effort to rippen before the first hard freeze. I, too, will always defer to food! I love your descriptions.
I'm on my way out to the garden to rescue the last tomatoes hanging on the vine, blushing with the effort to rippen before the first hard freeze. I, too, will always defer to food! I love your descriptions.
I could so smell the aromas, taste the flavors. Yum!
when I get stuck, I usually go running or mow the grass. I sometimes write blog posts and schedule them ahead of time.
You've made me want to cook up something with all the fresh herbs I just got from my neighbor. :)
I get a lot of inspiration from reading other peoples stuff- to write about and to make me want to pursue other fun things.
Great post. Inspirational, too. Matter of fact, you've inspired me to pick some herbs from the garden, and start simmering a pot of pasta sauce.
I just ate lunch, but you kinda made me hungry all over again.
Good advice. Write what you know.
Great idea!! I guess when I'm stuck I don't write - I do other things that do not involve writing! Take care
x
books are often my fallback position. I can always write about a book I loved.
I try to remember these lessons, yet sometimes they're firmly hidden and I stare at the screen and become grumpy and irritable with myself and anyone around. I think what you're remind us is to allow ourselves to 'be' in the present. Sue
Good point. Stuck seems to happen when I REACH. When life reaches for me...then the words flow to embrace it.
"Write what you love!" Smart lady you are. It is the passion that makes writing and then reading memorable. You are quite the master of using the senses in description. Lovely post.
Good advice, Liza. And focus is so important--this is a great reminder to look for all the sensory treasures surrounding us, and not the mundane (though that could easily be written about also, but sometimes a little depressing).
Great tip! Thank you. When I get stuck I usually write a blog post. While I was on break, I discovered that writing as my character in an email works wonders. I don't know how long this will continue to work, but I'm grabbing it while it does. I think it tricks my mind into thinking it's not really working on the manuscript. I'm keeping your tip in reserve :)
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