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Nonfiction

Judy L. Forney

Learning to Cook

I suffer from a recurring dream about cooking for a crowd. Sausage burns, pancakes solidify, hash browns blacken, and eggs congeal. I have too many pots on the stove, and nothing is ready to eat at the right time. Breakfast is a disaster. Last night I dreamt again, with one important difference. My pots were full of story ideas. Just as one began to simmer along nicely, another would boil over. And the one I left warming in the oven? It dried to dust. How can I manage so many writing projects at once without scalding myself? By learning to cook.

My mother-in-law is a wonderful chef. She says the important thing in preparing a meal is to look at the process logically. Start with the right tools. Double-check your recipe and cooking times. Begin at the beginning, stir, season, and taste. Keep the side dishes simple. Know when you want to serve the feast, and present it with flair. Can the same logical approach whip up a week's worth of writing? Maybe it is easy as pie.

Start the mix Monday with the right tools. Got a writing buddy you can count on? Telephone her, or send out a quick Email. Let your friend in on the menu, and baste in her encouragement. Warm up your knowledge of the market listings. Stock the pantry with paper, printer ink, and SASE's. Check your recipe for a successful week and get cooking.

Begin Tuesday prepping your main course. Start that new story or article. Take the next chapter of your book from outline to written form. Stir, add seasoning, taste, cover and let simmer. Enjoy the creativity wafting through your life.

Does Wednesday bring the need to pay some bills, or chase some elusive 'clips'? Check your market research warming in the oven. Tackle that how-to article you've been meaning to write. Type up that anecdote, for a perfect filler piece. Compose a winning query. Keep your side dishes simple, but delicious and they'll add to the whole meal.

Turn the heat back up under your main course Thursday. Trust yourself as the work murmurs from a slow simmer to a rolling boil. Dip your spoon in for a taste. Does that small sample make you hungry for more? If not, don't despair. That's what cooking is all about. Add a pinch of humor, a teaspoon of excitement, and dash of drama. Ask another good cook to take a bite. Listen to her tips on seasoning, but remember, this is your recipe.

Set your best table Friday. Presentation is important. Iron out any wrinkles in your manuscript format. Shake out your best cover letter. Serve your story or article with style, and editors won't be able to resist the invitation to pull up a chair, sit down and enjoy the feast of words you've cooked up.

Judy L. Forney lives in eastern Washington State with her husband and three teenage sons. Judy is in the process of learning to take herself seriously as a writer. She is an associate member of the WA./ID. SCBWI, and is working on a YA novel.