My Empty Cookie Jar
Flecked pottery with a blue band, my cookie jar settles in place with a substantial clatter. When I lift the lid I catch the salty-sweet scent of peanutbutter cookies that filled the container most recently.
But today only crumbs remain.
I dab the bottom of the jar, then lick the gathered crumbs from my finger.
Some days my writing life feels like an empty cookie jar, full of rich, calorie-laden memories but nothing I can sink my teeth into. It's time to bake a new batch of cookies. Time to fill the jar again.
Gingersnaps? Chocolate chip? Snickerdoodles? The decisions hover above the vacant page.
It would be easier to grab store-bought cookies. Safe, generic, mass-produced.
As I get out my mixing bowl I think of all the people who make better cookies than I do. Sweeter, prettier, more creative, more carefully decorated.
Should I add more sugar, or less? How much baking soda do I need for the story to lift off the page? Will anyone notice if I slip a little wheatgerm into the plot? Which spices should I add to my dialogue?
The cookie jar is waiting. Do I have another story in me? Can I fill it again?
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Hey, writing friends,
This got me thinking. Which cookie type would you use to typify your writing work? Tell us about the kind of writing you do and what sort of cookie it brings to mind!
Blessings!
Sharon Hinck
15 comments:
I know that feeling well! A story usually comes out of my oven, but sometimes takes a while to bake.
My stories tend to be old fashioned oatmeal. Hearty, but not always predictable (I hope not.) They may have a surprise: choc chips? dried cherries?
However, lately I haven't been able to bake that kind of story. I'm trying out something more modern--a white macademia nut type cookie. But knowing me, I'll find a way to sneak in some oatmeal.
Thanks for inviting me to the kitchen, Sharon!
Hey Sharon, Right now I've been tasting crumbs of all kinds. What I wouldn't do to be able to make a big fat plate of fudgy cookies or something. Unfortunately, the dough keeps falling flat. But I'm planning to get back in the kitchen next week and see what's wrong with this batter!
Anyhoo, my cookies would have chiseled chunks (not baby chips!!!) of rich chocolate, maybe some toasted almonds, and lots of peaks and valleys to make them taste oh-so-delicioso!
(thanks for asking :-)
My cookie is oatmeal raisin with chocolate chips and a birthday candle in the center! My call in writing is to remind my reader that God sings over and celebrates them every single day. My goal is to nourish them that they might live powerful, impactful lives on earth. Yes, that's it, an oatmeal-raisin-chocolate-chip-birthday cookie! Time to get baking...
Hmm, my first novel (historical) is probably oatmeal raisin - with a hint of nutmeg. Second (romance) is more a lemon bar - light, with a bit of a tart taste. The third (fantasy) I'm just starting, so I'm not sure was it will be! Seven-layer bar? Gingersnap?
Hi, le - yes, I keep forgetting that story-telling (like baking) takes time. I keep pulling open the oven door asking, "isn't it done yet?"
Hi, Cindy! Definite oatmeal, oh Celtic girl! But I like the hidden surprises inside. I'm interested in your modern white macademia cookie. Tell me more!
Julie, I've been feeling "crummy" a lot, too. But I have great confidence your dough will come out JUST RIGHT.
Susie - don't forget the sprinkles. Your birthday cookie definitely deserves sprinkles. You're great at sprinkling joy.
Hi, Katie! Great job picking cookie types for each genre! i love the lemon bar idea (sweet, light, but tart).
Okay, you've all made me hungry, and all I have in my cookie jar are a few stale graham crackers. Hopefully my writing cookie jar will soon have something not so stale!
Oooo ... oatmeal with chocolate chips and a candle and sprinkles? I feel joy sprinkling all around me even as we speak! (That, plus the fact I can finally comment on your blog, Sharon, since you magnanimously - just kidding - won't allow anonymous comments. I finally signed on the dotted line! I'm anonymous no more! Wah-hoo!)
So, what type of cookies are my stories? Well ... my stories would be like the orange nutcake thingies one would pull out of an MRE. Not exactly the best things to eat in the whole world, but, at that moment when that one is sitting on the front bumper of a dusty humvee sweating like a pig (though, yes, pigs don't sweat - work with me here) exhausted and starving and facing another long night in the desert surrounded by people who speak a strange language and, unfortunately, want to kill her ... (my bias is evident) ; ) ... it works. At that moment, even an orange nutcake thingie pulled from a thick plastic brown bag marked with the words, written in glorious English, "Orange Nutcake Thingie, 1 Unit, U.S. Army," tastes delightful. Well, maybe after being forced down with a huge chug of water. Lukewarm that it is.
Sounds delightful, huh.
Um ... can I change my answer?
phentermine - health insurance - debt consolidation - home equity loans Nice comment.. I ll come back for sure :]
I'm trying to bake an itty-bitty cookie that's so good my publisher will snarf it up and ask for more. It's the synopsis cookie, the toughest cookie to bake. I liken writing a short synopsis of a novel to baking chewy snicker doodles. Timing and simple ingredients are the secrets to success. It's very tempting to load the batter with flavorful ingredients to overwhelm the delicate sweetness and to mask my shortcomings as a baker. Chocolate. Nuts. Coconut. But my synopsis cookies would soon become a bloated and confusing ramble of words. I know this, because I already tried that approach, and my critique group sent me back to my PC. I'm traveling to visit my publisher in 5 days. Please pray for me. It's enough to make me swear off of cookies. Almost.
Leaning on the Author and Perfecter (Editor) of my faith...Patti
Oooh! Donna, I didn't know they had cookies in MREs, but that's a PERFECT symbol for your wonderful military novels.
Patti, I agree that I'd rather bake BATCHES of novels than one tiny synopsis. Like angel food cake, if it's mixed wrong, I end up with lots of HOLES. Don't quit baking. We're hungry for your wonderful delicate brand of cookies. Can't wait to see you!!!!
But wait! I wanted to change my answer. How about ... my stuff is like a seven-layer bar with all the good stuff stacked one on top of the other, but it always seems to be the coconut that remains in the teeth after everything else has been swallowed down, so if the reader likes coconut, this isn't a problem, but, if they don't, they tend to spit it out instead of keep chewing on it or forcing it down like the dry yuck it is. (Coconut's all about the flavor, baby. Then it's just about as useless as it can be.)
Yeah, some readers spit parts of my stories out. But that's okay. Hopefully the other six layers still work for them.
Hey, that's not much better than the orange nutcake thingies, huh, but if one has never indulged in the delight of eating one while sitting on the dusty fender of a humvee, I guess they just wouldn't catch the analogy. ; ) But, I'm sure most of us has spit some coconut from time to time.
Too much fun, lady.
Later!
: )
Well, I love shortbread, so I'm going to make my answer fit shortbread if I can possibly help it.
I add oatmeal to my shortbread, so it's got that little extra healthy some-some that you can't reeeeeaaally quite taste. That's like the spiritual lift in my stories that you never realize you're getting because there's so much mental fluff.
I also like shortbread because it's a bit salty, and my books, while fun, always have something deeper in my characters that doesn't become the focus of the book, but it's there in at least one quieter moment. Salty.
And shortbread has tons of butter and sugar. What's not to like???? I have lots of fun (sugar) and conflict for my characters (butter) which hopefully makes a read they can't stop eating--er, put down.
Camy
Donna, you are SUCH a NUT. coconut.
Camy
My cookie is what my mother-in-law called forgotten cookies. They are fluff mostly eggwhites and sugar but crisp and good. You leave them in a warm turned off oven for awhile, hence forgotten.
I am happy when a forgotten cookie comes along, some poignant memory that just fits into the story I'm writing. Nancy Brown
Hi, Camy!
I know you've been making shortbread lately, but I was sure you'd describe your books as fortune cookies... snappy Asian cookies wrapped cutely around a message.
Nancy - I'm glad you're finding little things to remember and add to your writing, like the "forgotten" cookies that are so light and sweet.
Today I've been writing bits and pieces - it's like I keep shuffling my cut-out cookies on the baking sheet trying to figure out the best way for them to line up before I pop it in the oven.
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