Stick to What You Know

Yesterday morning I hit a writing wall. Full on. Head first. It happens. Usually I start writing about plot or setting or a character when my work in progress and I are not getting along. Not yesterday, though. I wasn’t in the mood to write anything. So, I decided to bake an angel food cake as a little break from work. And I decided to bake it from scratch (mistake number one). People were coming over to celebrate Father’s Day. Why not impress them? (Thinking I’d be impressing anyone with my baking = mistake number two.)

I am usually the kind of baker who tears open a box and adds water to the pre-put-together cake mix. However, there were no Betty Crocker boxes in the pantry (mistake number three). What is a blocked writer to do? Break out a cookbook, of course.

I won’t horrify you with the gruesome details of how my little baking break went, but I will admit that it stretched into a long term commitment. Twelve sacrificed eggs, untold cups of frustration, and more than one inappropriate exclamation later, I had a one inch high angel food cake. Note: Angel food cakes are supposed to be tall, light, and fluffy.

The moral of this story for me is this: Stick to what you know. The next time I hit a writing wall, I may take a break, but I will go to the store and BUY a cake. Or, at the very least, purchase a box of cake mix. And then I will return to my writing and ignore my sour mood.