Baking Up a Story

This weekend, I took a break from writing and editing. I've been struggling with getting back into editing since I got back my manuscript from a developmental editor. I had just completed a major overhaul of the book in question in August, and frankly, I'm tired of looking at it. I planned to do major edits this month, and I still want to do that, but this weekend, it just wasn't happening.

So, instead, I baked. I meant to bake multiple things, but the pressure drop brought on a migraine, and I only baked an apple cobbler. I've never made one before, but it seemed the simplest recipe in the apple cookbook I have, it used quite a few of the apples we picked last weekend, and I had all of the ingredients I needed. It turned out beautifully and my house smelled deliciously like apples and cinnamon for the rest of the day.

I think one reason I enjoy baking, beyond the yummy sugary treat I create, is because it's similar to writing. The ingredients of a recipe are like the different parts of a story. Each of the different characters are a unique ingredient that plays a part in the overall story. The setting, conflict, and word choices all impact the overall product. Separately, they don't make all that much sense, and in many cases, don't taste good on their own (have you ever tried baking powder or flour by itself? Yuck). But when you blend them together, tweaking things here and there, the story transforms. 

My love of baking probably explains why my most popular Twitter pitch for the various pitch parties is actually a recipe. Combining my two loves helped to not only give agents and editors an idea of what my book is about, but it does so in a fun, relatable way. I've found many fellow writers on social media also enjoy baking. 

Hopefully this week and this weekend, I'll get to bake the other things I wanted to. I need to make my husband's annual fruitcake so it can age until December. He's the only person I know who actually enjoys fruitcake, so I make him one each year. I have plenty of apples left over from our trip to the orchard, and I have several recipes I want to try. And, at some point, I will delve back into editing so I can really start querying this book by the end of the month.

How was your weekend?