A Tasty Writing Tip from Madeleine L' Engle

Dear Friend,

In Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art, Madeleine L' Engle likened her process for writing books to cooking a meal like a French peasant cook:

When I start working on a book, which is usually several years and several books before I start to write it, I am somewhat like a French peasant cook. There are several pots on the back of the stove, and as I go by doing the day's work, I drop a carrot in one, an onion in another, a chunk of meat in another. When it comes time to prepare the meal, I take the pot which is most nearly full and bring it to the front of the stove.

So it is with writing. There are several pots on those back burners. An idea for a scene goes into one, a character into another. When it comes time to write, I bring forward the pot that has the most is it. The dropping in of ideas is something quite conscious; sometimes it happens without my realizing it. I look, and something has been added which is just what I need, but I don't remember when it was added.

When it is time to start work, I look at everything in the pot, sort, arrange, think about character and story line. Most of this part of the work is done consciously, but then there comes a moment of unself-consciousness, of letting go and serving the work.

Madeline L'Engle wrote from home as she raised four children. I love it when I find a great writer whose life experience is a bit like my own. Everyday I cook for my family of seven, so this meal-making analogy is something that speaks to me: Add a bit of something here; shake a dash of something there. I have four book ideas on my mental stove right now. They might need to simmer for ten, fifteen, twenty years.

Roasted Winter Vegetables (one of my husband's favorite sides)

Perhaps, like me, you feel you have very little time to devote to your long term dreams. Would it help to dig out some nice heavy stock pots and place them on your mental stove?

Can you drizzle a little oil in and saute an onion today?

Some day we will say "Bon Appetit!"

Love,
Adriana

P.S. My friend Krista Bjorn is experiencing the fruition of some lifelong dreams right now: a book deal, her own store, and a secret garden! Read about it here.