Cutting the Holiday 10

During the holidays, I give myself permission to eat what I want & not worry about the consequences. This year was no different, except that I made a concerted effort to be a little more conscious about my choices. I love chocolate & pumpkin pie & all the other goodies. They like me too - my hips, my thighs, my salt & pepper shakers. Here's what I did or didn't.

Raw Organic Sugar - For Thanksgiving, I made a Pumpkin Pie Crumble Cake. The best of both worlds - cake & pie in one dish. With one difference, no refined sugar. Tastes the same, but provides a healthy balance between sugar abandon & conscious choice.

Writing is the same. The raw, organic distillation of story that grows from one action to the next. No white wash; no over-dramatization.

Buttah - I love butter. Two paper towel popcorn is just right in my book. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, turkey basting, biscuits slathered in slabs. Everything pretty much tastes better with butter. But, as with all things, moderation.

All natural, no salt added butter. Sounds boring, I know. But, it is the building block of good writing. Description - physical, landscape, world building. All are spread in even pats throughout the tale.

Candy - Chocolates, ribbon candies, sugared slices. Fruit cake need not apply. Eating them ain't the issue; it's walking away from the bowl that I have trouble with. In years past, I have made chocolate suckers, decorated cookies & even ventured into the candy making realm. This year, I restrained myself!

Sweets are good; they are the ebb & flow of story. Screwing characters into a light bulb & watching them crawl out - that's good reading. Tying all the ribbons satisfies the reader & keeps them close to the bowl waiting for the next round of candies the writer places in it.

And that's it. I didn't gain 10 extra stones. I am not left with holiday remorse. The writing follows the same pattern. Better story, less editing, more satisfaction. That's what it's mostly about.

Happy Writing,

Patti