The Prince of....Lemon Cookies!!!!
I can say that it is an excuse to not to sit down and write. I can also say that in trying to make some lemon cookies right now while listening to some epic music (no seriously, it is titled Epic Music on youtube), I am looking for some inspiration and thinking about what to write.
Cooking is fabulous. I love food SO much. As a full time writer going through a bout of writer's block, I feel so much better when I can create something in another realm. Food. Now, by all means, I am nowhere near a great cook. But I get by pretty well. This cookie recipe happens to be one of my husband and my favorites because it is not only sweet but fresh with lemon zest. Definitely click on the link to make some fabulous lemon cookies: Soft and Chewy Lemon Sugar Cookies | Baked by Rachel
My husband is currently outside working on our new flowerbed boxes before he goes into work. Sadly, these cookies will not be done by the time he goes in. He works the grave shift, and though he loves this shift, it also means he doesn't have the time to heat up his lunches let alone eat them sometimes (all officers can relate, I'm sure). Generally speaking, all of the dishes I can make are meant to be, and taste best, while hot. Thankfully, he is just as happy to eat his lunch cold, which I am grateful for. I don't feel as guilty about him not eating a warm meal if he is okay eating it cold. I on the other hand, will never understand it. Cold and/or room temperature food that is meant to be hot does not appeal to me at all. Does anyone have any good recipes they enjoy that are tasty while cold? Any suggestions are appreciated. My husband does not like "normal" lunch food ( PB&J, egg salad, tuna) and so I usually make crockpot meals that have a generous amount of leftovers that will last the week.
Squirrel!
I am currently reading an amazing book. The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy is unbelievably written. It is one of those books that instead of getting inspired to write, you go to your room to cry because you know you will never be able to write like that. However, I do take the book with me to continue reading while I sob ugly sobs of self-pity. The descriptions, painted out history, and psyche of the characters is unbelievable. It covers a 40 year span through flashbacks of this man and his family's life. The pacing is great and the transition between the flashbacks is seamless and so well placed. It can be difficult to write flashbacks sometimes in a way that your reader can follow. I found it a challenge while writing my own book. It was one of the questions I was sure to always put forth at my writing group. Is it easy to follow transitions? Does it take you a minute to acclimate or figure out where you are? Etc.
But back to the book. A quick rundown of the storyline is that the main character, Tom, who is from South Carolina, finds out that his twin sister, who is a famous poet, has attempted to commit suicide and been committed to Bellevue Hospital in New York. In a rough patch with his marriage and career, Tom decides to visit his sister and see what he can do to help her. Tom stays the summer in New York, discussing his sister with her psychiatrist in the hopes of figuring out why she has been consumed by such darkness. Tom shares his family history in an attempt to find the origin of some of the inner demons his sister has vocalized. In revisiting his past and speaking with the psychiatrist, Tom slowly tries to not only help his sister but find himself again. And that is taking even the bare bones of this novel and shaving off a few layers of description without explaining the depth and layers within this book. Read it. They did make a movie back in the early 90's with Barbra Streisand and Nick Nolte. I didn't care for it and it didn't do this book justice. So don't watch the movie, read the book.
I am currently reading an amazing book. The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy is unbelievably written. It is one of those books that instead of getting inspired to write, you go to your room to cry because you know you will never be able to write like that. However, I do take the book with me to continue reading while I sob ugly sobs of self-pity. The descriptions, painted out history, and psyche of the characters is unbelievable. It covers a 40 year span through flashbacks of this man and his family's life. The pacing is great and the transition between the flashbacks is seamless and so well placed. It can be difficult to write flashbacks sometimes in a way that your reader can follow. I found it a challenge while writing my own book. It was one of the questions I was sure to always put forth at my writing group. Is it easy to follow transitions? Does it take you a minute to acclimate or figure out where you are? Etc.
But back to the book. A quick rundown of the storyline is that the main character, Tom, who is from South Carolina, finds out that his twin sister, who is a famous poet, has attempted to commit suicide and been committed to Bellevue Hospital in New York. In a rough patch with his marriage and career, Tom decides to visit his sister and see what he can do to help her. Tom stays the summer in New York, discussing his sister with her psychiatrist in the hopes of figuring out why she has been consumed by such darkness. Tom shares his family history in an attempt to find the origin of some of the inner demons his sister has vocalized. In revisiting his past and speaking with the psychiatrist, Tom slowly tries to not only help his sister but find himself again. And that is taking even the bare bones of this novel and shaving off a few layers of description without explaining the depth and layers within this book. Read it. They did make a movie back in the early 90's with Barbra Streisand and Nick Nolte. I didn't care for it and it didn't do this book justice. So don't watch the movie, read the book.
Please note, I also am baking cookies because this book is so fabulous that I will literally sit down and read it until I am done, which will take up all of my day. Although this sounds great, and really, as a writer I should be reading as often as possible, I also find myself feeling like I didn't accomplish anything if I don't at least finish some tasks in my day. *Enter the cookie baking from stage left.* After the cookies are done I will probably start working on some writing prompts to get the creative juices flowing. I'm also mentally preparing myself for a writing challenge I may end up trying to participate in. It's a NovelRama challenge wherein you are to write 25,000 words in four days. YEESH! It begins tomorrow and I am seriously considering giving it a go. Sometimes I need to be challenged to get things done. I am extremely competitive and find that when I have plenty of time to get things done...nothing gets done. Yet when I have a time constraint, I'm all over it and unbelievably productive.
But while I am contemplating this crazy jump into gorge-writing and pondering what I could write about, I shall bake cookies and try to restrain myself from picking up that friggen book and devouring it.
But while I am contemplating this crazy jump into gorge-writing and pondering what I could write about, I shall bake cookies and try to restrain myself from picking up that friggen book and devouring it.
Comments
Post a Comment