I decided writing my first novel
is very much like cooking my first pancake.
Imagine loving gourmet pancakes your entire life (or as early as you could eat them.) Imagine appreciating the satisfying flavor, the perfect fluffiness and undisturbed golden brown edges.
Picture a perfectly cooked pancake, not underdone, no liquid center. Not overcooked, no frisbee prototype.
Now imagine that you decide you want to cook your own gourmet pancake. You use the best recipe and have a great griddle at your hand. You pour, wait for the bubbles and flip. And it looks like. . . a first pancake. A little flat, misshapen and very new. You move it to the plate, stifle your sigh and hope whoever gets that pancake will be able to look past it's superficial flaws and appreciate it's fresh, warm taste.
And no, my novel is not about pancakes.
It's a Christmas Story.
About trees.
I like the story so much that I've stuck with it for a year.
I'm beginning the second draft and I'm wondering-
Can I count the rough draft as my first pancake?(Note about my post: I should probably eat breakfast before I conjure up writing analogies!)
6 comments:
Great post! So true!
[I realize you do have a lot of posts about food..the bread, the chocolates, the cake...now pancakes...hmmm. :D]
fun post, Tamara! LOL..my pancakes still turn out kind of lousy! hopefully my writing will improve more quickly. Way to hang in there and keep going.
I love your analogy. I think sometimes we forget that writing takes practice just like any other skill. I shudder at the memory of some of my first stories. Just becomes something comes out bad the first time is no reason to stop.
Perhaps your "novel pancake" may not look the greatest right now, but it's still "edible". I'm sure it's going to end up great:) Excellent analogy!
Great visual. Congrats on finishing your first draft.
I love this post. It is a great analogy to how I feel when I read through my work. Sometimes I definitely need a mulligans.
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