I was thinking of the big family I had growing up. My immediate family was small, only my brother and I, but I had three aunts, an uncle, and six cousins on my mom’s side that lived locally. My other set of relatives lived in Arkansas. This bunch I shared my life with had relocated from there, so you could say I’m an Arkansas gal down to my bones.
Holidays were a production. The “ladies” would cook a meal fit for a king; all this while wearing high-heels and cute little hats like Jackie O…I kid you not. And in the middle of the huddle was my Mamaw. She made this dressing that to this day, I have to close my eyes and smile whenever I think of it. Mamaw didn’t cook with receipes, she did it with a “pinch” of this, and “dash” of that. I remember the day my mom sat at her elbow with a pad and pen and translated the steps she took, just so she could have it. Mamaw got it from her family, and heaven only knows how far back it went.
Mom and the ladies threw everything they had into making those special days a memory. We were rambucious and loud, conversation spiking throughout the day. I always wondered why my mom talked an octave louder after those affairs. She had to be heard above her other siblings I guess, and it took a few days to wear off.
When I think of that dressing, I realize it’s how I write. When I read Amy’s guest blog last week, and discovered my horoscope sign means, I feel, well it blew me away. I thread my way through my stories on emotions. That’s pretty much why how-to books don’t appeal to me on a big scale. You can tell me what has to be done and how to do it, but in the end I have to jump in through the only way I know how. And that’s where my characters come in. They’re the spices in my work, the pinch of this, and dash of that.
When my mom passed away, I brought her receipe box home. The index cards are all bent and stained, but I know the gold there. My collection is much smaller, and since I’m not an organizer it’s loose receipes I cut out of magazines, or a quick jot of the basic idea. I always find myself adding a little of this and that too, tasting a time or two until it’s right. I had no clue that my writing process resembled my life so much. I’m a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants writer, and I live that way. Not a planner but an, I feel my way through gal. And I really like it, because it relies on my inner compass. I’m tellin’ ya, we’re all created a certain way, one that will benefit our lives the most. I’m just glad I realized it sooner than later.
I’m curious, does your writing life reflect how you live? Is there a connection that you can see?
For my first two years in college, I went to a school where just about everybody worked on campus, and the big social place to work was the dining hall. The ladies who ran it did just about all their recipes by the seat of their pants. I can see making dinner for your family with a pinch here and a dash there, but brownies for 3,000 people?
Whoo.
In personality tests that measure left brain and right brain abilities not as one versus the other but based on the strength of each individually, I invariably max out on both. Basically, I’ve gotta have a plan, but I’m also open to flashes of intuition. It’s when I let both sides work together that I come up with my best stuff. Too far to either extreme and I’m not a happy camper.
Hey, Lynne!
Those dining hall gals sound pretty darn cool! And interesting about those tests. I took a quiz Margie Lawson posted once and yep, I was right-brain dominant…big surprise there. LOL. You know that’s pretty much norm for me. I think it’s so interesting to see how we’re all wired. Writers, imo, are the perfect examples of how it really works.
The only part of my writing life that’s like my real life is I don’t like being bogged down by details. Touch the surface with me. I’ll figure out the rest on my own because that’s how I learn. While I like design specs at work, I like it better when I have an overall idea of what the product/software is supposed to do. The rest, I’ll figure out and try to break it from there.
That’s probably why I don’t go wild with the details in my manuscripts either. I like to give readers just enough to peak their interests or give them a sense of what’s happening around them. No long, drawn out explanations. I might do a little bit of a background dump, but it’s NEVER more than one page. I love books where the author doesn’t hammer in every detail from the sky to the ant crawling on the ground. I don’t need to know all that. Just give me enough to keep the story rolling.
Your holiday’s sounded like ours, when I was growing up, with all my aunts and mom dressed from church as they cooked meals. I had a giant family, both my parents came from large families, so it was chaos of the highest order most of the time.
I think my writing does reflect my life. I’m a panster most of the time. I simply don’t have time for story boards and a lot of origanized thought. A story will hang on the edge of my mind and bug me, until I just put my butt in the chair to write. I do like the emotion, and try to fill my stories with them. I’m a Aries, which I’m not sure about what my emotional level is, other then we’re not patient, which is why I don’t plot.
Marcia I agree, there’s descriptive, then Descriptive.
I love mood-setting if it’s important to scene; storms, atmosphere, etc. I wanna be in that scene as a reader. But, yeah, I don’t wanna know so much that my eyes cross. Really depends on genre and voice, I think.
And, me too, on staying true to a process that works. It really is all about learning.
Lee, we’re lucky with those memories aren’t we?
And had to smile, love those stories that “bug” us, and force us to sit. I’ll check that site Amy gave us, and see what an Aries says too.
Lee, on Amy’s Magical guest blog your Aries defining phrase is, I Am. I’d say that’s pretty cool!
I’m the same way, Marcia. I try not to burden the reader with excessive details. But boy, did I ever get yelled at by a contest judge for that! She insisted repeatedly (in red ink, all caps, underlined three times, and traced over so the ink bled through the paper, no less) that I needed to spend at least two whole paragraphs at the beginning of every scene describing the surroundings in excruciating detail.
I couldn’t decide if she really believed this was the most compelling way to open a scene or if she was deliberately giving me messed-up advice.
LOL, very drama way to go about it. What in the world?
Great blog, LaD! You brought back memories, LaD, although my mother was more of a Katherine Hepburn dresser than Jackie O. I’m all for comfort too.
My Libra defining phrase is “I balance.” If you’d see my messy life, you’d know that’s not so! But on Margie’s test, I do come out in the middle instead of being all right or left brained. And I’m not a detailed plotter, but I do like to know a few turning points and an idea of the beginning and the end. Subject to change, of course.
lol, hell yes my writing reflects my life! It’s all crazy!
Thanks, Edie! And Katy Hepburn’s outfits rocked! Raising hand on the comfort issue.
And on the “messy” life, I hear ya. Margie’s test was really interesting. When I figured the results, I thought..yep, that’s me.
My writing life is this:
5am twinlings grumbling in their sleep i wake up turn on laptop have a looksy at my fav blogs.
5.30am twinling 1 needs changing, I change him then go back to laptop.
5.35am twinling 1 comes into my bed and lays across my chest so I can’t see the laptop.
6am twinling 2 and Mister3 are up, creating chaos, something smashes in the kitchen.
7am i sit back down at my laptop and start typing
7.03am someone yells out that twinling 1 has done a poo
8am i sit back down at my laptop and start typing
8.15am kids yell at me that they’re late for school.
and my day continues from there, do I have a schedule? nope I’d love to, I’m a list kind of girl, but i’ll write whenever i get a spare moment and that’s what makes me happy.
Natalie, you are my hero, girl! What a busy life you have.
And, you’re one up on me with that list of yours. It’s terrific that you know what makes ya happy, so keep on keepin on!
What sweet babies, I bet. You lucky goose!
I’m with you. Give me a little bit of this, a little bit of that … and suddenly you have a manuscript. I’m strictly a seat of the pantser. Don’t like having the story outlined out for me. Its an adventure to make it up as I go.
Growing up as number 8 of 10 siblings, we’ve never had a quiet meal. It was alway bedlam. I can relate.
Liz, it’s a great way to write! And I love that you had a big family. I always wanted sisters. That’s where my gal-pals come in.
LaD, you’re on to something here! Yes, I write like I live my life. I have a general outline, and I like to get things right before I move on to the next scene / chapter, but I’m flexible and I have an innate optimism that it will all come together in the end. And it always does
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Hey Michelle, seriously it was like an Ah moment for me. All I could think, writing this blog, is I live this way too!
Your writing/life comparison sounds great too. Especially the optimism and flexibility. You’re a winner when you carry those in your pocket.