 | Today I made my way to the kitchen, knowing exactly what cookies I was going to make. They are the ones I have made for years, and the ingredients needed are etched into my memory bank. After turning on the oven to preheat, I started to gather up the flour, sugar, baking powder, eggs and milk. This time, though, I discovered the one thing that hooked me on these sweet treats back in the day, the pièce de résistance…chocolate and dried cranberries…is MIA. Okay, that’s two things. I chastise myself for not refilling the jars, stuff happens. |
The realization surfaces that I need to make a choice, either put all of the other ingredients back, or look in the pantry for a substitute and change these babies. Today I welcome the odd couple from the larder, toffee crumbles and coconut.
Regardless of what you are doing, if all the ingredients aren’t available, the results will definitely be different from what you were expecting. It doesn’t mean you'll be left with disappointment and a bad taste in your mouth. It means you have to adapt and dig into your creative cupboard to make it happen. Simply put, finding the right recipe is all that is needed.
Like baking cookies, writers use a recipe to create characters, story lines, plots and endings all in a teasing effort to have you wanting more. Sometimes changing the persona of the character, or throwing a twist into the storyline are needed to carry the plot forward. Yes, it may change the ending; but if it’s done right, like the cookies, your readers will want more.
To my writing friends and aspiring writers, the next time you have an idea to pen some prose, consider the following recipe.
Idea: Bake cookies
Character: The cookie
Outline: The recipe
Scene: The steps of the recipe
Plot: Bring all of the needed ingredients together
Hook: Eating the first one
Storyline: Sharing the recipe
Ending: Eating the last one and wanting more
Alternately, if you are looking to bake cookies, try one of our family favourites found in From Our Home To Yours: Cookies.
Regardless of what you are doing, if all the ingredients aren’t available, the results will definitely be different from what you were expecting. It doesn’t mean you'll be left with disappointment and a bad taste in your mouth. It means you have to adapt and dig into your creative cupboard to make it happen. Simply put, finding the right recipe is all that is needed.
Like baking cookies, writers use a recipe to create characters, story lines, plots and endings all in a teasing effort to have you wanting more. Sometimes changing the persona of the character, or throwing a twist into the storyline are needed to carry the plot forward. Yes, it may change the ending; but if it’s done right, like the cookies, your readers will want more.
To my writing friends and aspiring writers, the next time you have an idea to pen some prose, consider the following recipe.
Idea: Bake cookies
Character: The cookie
Outline: The recipe
Scene: The steps of the recipe
Plot: Bring all of the needed ingredients together
Hook: Eating the first one
Storyline: Sharing the recipe
Ending: Eating the last one and wanting more
Alternately, if you are looking to bake cookies, try one of our family favourites found in From Our Home To Yours: Cookies.
Do you follow a recipe from start to finish?
Ann Edall-Robson
Author, Photographer, Lover of Life
"Capturing moments others may never get to experience."
Author, Photographer, Lover of Life
"Capturing moments others may never get to experience."
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