No Spring Melt Down!

Straight-Up Fruit Tart. An irresistible classic!

This time last year I was about to lose my marbles. (You can read about it here.) It was a memorable experience, and I vowed not to repeat such idiocy this year. Nope, I wasn’t going to teach an intermediate pastry class, plan a classical pastry class, edit Scrumptious and write 1000 words of Luscious each and every day. Nope – this year I was going to teach an intermediate pastry class, plan a classical pastry class and write a synopsis plus the first thirty pages of Book Three in my hot chef series. Whew! I’m so glad I learned from my mistakes last year…

Actually I did. Well, sort of. It was May before I pulled my head out of my tush last year. It’s only March now, so let’s call it a win.

How did I trick myself into thinking I wasn’t making the same mistake again? I told

Luscious Tiramisu helps a lot. If this pic hits you where you live, the recipe is under Recipes, Luscious, Tiramisu on this very blog. I invented it when my Olive Garden Tiramisu habit exceeded my resources...

myself my classes were my first priority and anything I got done on Book Three was pure gravy…but then I worked obsessively on the synopsis every day before going downtown to teach my night class. I worked on weekends, too. I made tons of progress! Then I got bitchy and exhausted just like last year. My husband said, “No wonder – you are working sixteen hours a day.” (He said it without a smirk, too, God love him.)

Head. Wall. Bang.

Believe

To the plotters, the pantsers and the puzzlers – I say yes. Trust your process.

Easy, right? We are writers, of course we will write! We are published, our stories will be good. Hmm. It doesn’t always feel so simple in the middle of the creative process, does it?

Believe. In yourself. I give you permission.

It’s there. You’ve got it all going on. Your charts, graphs, collages, legal pads, spread sheets, blank computer screen – you don’t have to explain them or justify them to anyone. You just have to have faith that whatever you are doing will get the job done because you are talented and experienced.

It’s a little like being a chef. Unless I’m baking, I don’t use too many recipes anymore. When I do use a recipe, it’s a jumping off point. Or perhaps I’ll look at three recipes for the same dish and create a hybrid. I can do that because I’ve done a lot of cooking over the last twenty years, and I can sense how the food is going to turn out. I couldn’t have done it in culinary school, maybe not even five years after graduation… but I can do it now.

I’ve decided it’s the same with writing. This isn’t my first manuscript. It’s my sixth. I’m winging it with confidence, counting on all the things I’ve learned to make this my best story yet. I’m not allowing the Oh God, you suck demons to plague me when I don’t meet my word count. I’m not worried that I have a half-empty four-act sketch tacked up on the wall. I’m not freaking out because I wrote the beginning, then the end, and now I’m writing the middle. I’m allowing it to emerge in sprints and halts, music, notecards and photographs. The story is there. I can sense. I will write it.

And you’ll write yours too. If you are good at what you do, if you care, if you put in the time and effort to learn more about your craft, then you should trust your abilities. Let your confidence carry you through the convolutions of the creative process. Let everything else fall away. You know what you are doing.

You know you do.

Believe.

Chef.

I’ve been craving chocolate cake. Since I’m up to my elbows in edits, this is as close as I’m going to get this week. Next week, however, I’m going to make the Mocha Rum Cheesecake that shows up in Chapter Two of Love a La Carte. It packs a double wallop of caffeine and booze, and is as close to a perfect dessert experience as I’ve every known. Just a little something to look forward to…

And – done!

I promised you cheesecake.