When someone reads a story of mine, and then gets upset when it ends or is incomplete, I get a little pleasure from that because it means that I've done a good job...in most cases. Sometimes I wonder if I hadn't written enough, but then I remember as a reader, I am not always satisfied when a story ends.
A recipe of a good writer includes knowing how to leave some of the story to the imagination. A reader can often create an image of a character in their mind, but it can differ from another reader's. As a writer, you never want to write every detail of your character's image or life, right down to their death. There's a reason fairy tales end with "...and they lived happily ever after." They knew that the reader didn't want to hear about the pain of the female character's pregnancy or that the main characters struggled to hold their love life together while juggling purpose and occupation. They knew we didn't want to know that the male character suffered a long painful death, while his wife cried daily by his bedside, watching him wither away. Fiction is an escape from the very real situations in life, so most want the happy endings; sometimes in more ways than one.
We all want our happy endings, but the truth is, they aren't always. What if Snow White had eaten that poison apple while the dwarves were away and the prince had been slain by the Queen's dragon form? What if true love's first kiss couldn't have saved Snow?
 |
| Courtesy mamuvies.blogspot.com |
I know...
No one likes to think about it.
They like the fairytale ending.
Happily ever after is more pleasing to the mind.
I, however, am one of those readers that doesn't at all mind reading the good with the bad, because frankly it makes me feel better reading about someone else having those same struggles. It makes me feel as though I am not alone in how I feel. I like feeling connected to the characters in that way. That is what I try to incorporate into my writing.
When it comes to my cooking, I desperately want that happy ending. I am constantly abusing using my husband in a "guinea pig" fashion. He doesn't always mind, but I know when I've done something truly good because he has a tell. He dances while chewing. It's both the funniest and most adorable thing I've ever witnessed in my life. It's when I know that I've had that happy ending in my recipe's story.
My husband did a little secret shopping last week. He knew I'd been wanting to try buying fresh, locally grown products. I'd told him that I wanted to see if there was a marked difference between buying these products and the products from the store chains. I am already a mostly "from scratch" cook, so I wanted to take it another step further. I can say with 100% certainty that there is indeed a difference. Not just in helping my neighbors with their livelihood, but the taste of those products I used that were fresh.
Shipping is a terrible thing to do to vegetables.
They probably get jet-lagged, just like people.
~Elizabeth Berry
They probably get jet-lagged, just like people.
~Elizabeth Berry
My wonderful, adoring, loving husband purchased green beans, carrots, asparagus, potatoes, onions, and garlic. The difference was amazing! The colors were brighter and the taste seemed...cleaner? I don't know quite how to describe it really. What I can say is that I will be more than happy to purchase from my neighbors, weekly. The reward was in the taste, and I won't soon forget it.
I know I had said at the top of the year that I wanted to experiment with food more this year. So far I've made my own cranberry chutney/sauce, chicken soup, creamy cheese sauce, roasted picante salsa, and chicken stock. All without the aid of a recipe and husband approved by chew-dancing.
When you finish a recipe and others take pleasure in it, you have to admit, you take pride in what you've done more than if you had stopped at the restaurant and picked up a pizza.
No comments:
Post a Comment