Cooking and Writing

Wow, I've been finding a lot of time to write lately and I made a discovery. I enjoy it! Since I decided to focus on learning the craft, instead of making money, I'm amazed at how relaxing it can be. It's kind of like cooking where I feel totally in control and not at all intimidated. I love experimenting with new recipes. I don't usually follow recipes to a "T"; instead I just get ideas and wing it. But there's a sense of satisfaction when the flavors marry nicely and my concoctions come out tasting great. Surprisingly, when they flop, I don't mind it at all. It doesn't depress me - I just take it as a challenge to make it work the next time. What usually frustrates me is when my creations fail due to lack of planning on my part.

I'm finding that writing brings the same kind of satisfaction. I still lean towards non-fiction, but it's fun to experiment with point of view and characterization in fiction. Things don't always turn out perfectly the first time and that's okay with me. They're just words, so back to the drawing board we go.

I feel like I'm on the right track, focused on laying a good foundation, so when I do start submitting pieces for publication, and querying editors with my ideas, I'll be more confident in my ability to produce. Along the way, I'm asking and answering important questions of myself, clarifying for myself what I believe. It's like I used to tell my dorm girls: get the heart right and the rest will follow.

A Wish for Words

For once I'm not wishing for words to write. I'm wishing for words to speak. I just sat and listened for a good fifteen minutes to several co-workers in the office next to me, railing on Bush, Republicans, conservatives and everything else they hate about our country. I wish I was more articulate when it comes to politics, but I just find it hard to express what I believe to be right.

 

Here a Penny, There a Penny

I"m always finding money. Sometimes its a $20 bill in the pocket of the jeans I packed away at the end of last summer. Other times I'll find a buck or two in an old purse I haven't used for months. And then there's always the change in my husband's pockets that ends up in the laundry. More often than not though, my monetary finds are just pennies I come across while walking through a parking lot. Some would laugh at me but I always pick them up. Money is money, no matter the denomination.

Would to God I had that same approach to His word. Sometimes I'm on the lookout for that big smacks-me-between-the eyes truth, and I skip over the "little" exhortations. I'm looking for that big beam of light cast out from the lighthouse, when right in front of me is just enough light on the path illuminating my next step.