Writer in the Kitchen

"Cooking takes time. It takes focus. It takes love. And that's what I pour, instead, into the work of creating and running an entire town named Mitford... Thus, on most evenings you may find me standing at the sink, devouring such culinary delicacies as pepperoni left over from last week's pizza, or fried chicken from the gas station up the road..."

Jan Karon

author of the Mitford books

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I read this in the introduction to Karon's Mitford Cookbook and Kitchen Reader, and I thought yes. Yes! This is me!

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And now I feel less guilty about not wanting to spend more time in the kitchen. All that creative energy, I understand now, goes toward my writing.

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What about you? On what do you spend your energies?

Inspiration On The Road

Our trip was a success! Our purpose was primarily one of business, as we delivered a van, a car door, and rims near and in Chicago, all of which my husband sold through his eBay business. But we made it a family event, too, stopping at a superb mall in Iowa on the way (I found a fab coat on clearance at Old Navy for $4.99!) and visiting the Museum of Science and Industry in downtown Chicago before heading home. We ate delicious food here and there along the way, absorbed some quality family time, and tuckered ourselves out big time. I'm ready to do it again!

But also, I'm proud to report, I made some progress on the writerly front, as I'd hoped to do. The several hours spent in our mammoth, bumpy Ford truck on Tuesday didn't bode too well for handwritten progress on my WIP, but I soaked up the recent edition of the Writer magazine (March 2008). I found it full of great, useful information, some of which I'll try to share in the next couple of days. I got some satisfying study of the Scriptures done, and read a decent amount into the newest book (Home to Holly Springs) by one of my favorite authors, Jan Karon. Each of these steps served, it their own ways, to inspire me. By the time we pulled in to the parking lot of Tuesday night's hotel, ideas for my WIP were bouncing around in my head. I jotted down what notes I had the energy for, sticking the other thoughts in a mental file. Yesterday, around further travels and our time at the museum, I wrote additional notes, not allowing the chance for anything to slip through the cracks. Today, though, I fought my unsteady pen (still in that giant, bumpy Ford we were) and wrote out several pages for the ms. I could see everything unfolding in front of me, and still can. My hope is to transfer it all to Word this evening and, perhaps, continue at a good pace.

All of the above, I should say, took place around comments directed at Hubby, like "Well, I sure wouldn't have to worry about indecipherable writing if I had an AlphaSmart..." and "Bah! I have so much floating around in my head but no decent way to get 'em out..." or "Wouldja look at that?! The Writer has a giant advertisement for AlphaSmarts!" :D I think I just about have him talked into "gifting" me one. I'll keep you posted...