Writing Prompt

I can't put this up on the BNO blog. But, what a fantastic writing prompt: be naked when I get home via 9kik. There's a story in that. At least one.

Also, I have another follower :). And, more importantly, I DON'T KNOW HER! Hi new follower. I hope you find something interesting here.

When it Flows

I've had an idea for a little while now for a story that needs to be written. It's a simple, funny, somewhat nostalgic story. It's strange for me though - I'm not starting with characters. I'm starting with a world and I'm starting with glue.

This is new territory for me. Usually I start with a character, and let the character decide what will happen next, until the character does something stupid or otherwise shows me where my sadistic side needs to come out. But not here. Here, there's a bus, and some people, and races. No specific people, just generic people who drive and ride in the bus.

And then Friday I saw the food necklaces. These are exactly as they sound: necklaces made of cord with food strung on them in place of beads. I've been telling just about everyone I see about these things. Sam's friend subsequently dubbed them "snacklaces."

The snacklaces needed to meet the bus derbies.

But how would the two meet up? How could the marry? Sure, the two concepts go together better than peanut butter and jam, but how exactly do they do it? I've been trying to force this to happen since Friday, and have had no success. I know that's not all that long, but, in Megan-time, three days trying to get this all to be happy together might as well be 30 years.

Tonight though, I did it! I went back to my character first way of writing. I made someone say something and react. And then the other person react. And now the bus derbies are coming to live. The derbies have rules and special people in them. And some of them wear snacklaces. And all because I forced some people to talk.

What gets you writing?

Dinner Tonight

Among the many things the husband and I do, we eat. We eat at home, and we eat out. And eating at home means cooking.

Somehow, I came out okay in that wifely-duty department. My parents graced me with good food (real food, not that stuff people call "food") as a child, made me eat things I didn't want to try (most of the time they were really good, though I'm sure my mother will tell you I thought otherwise (still an adverb there) at the time), and cooked. And they cooked from scratch. Some of it was basic, every day things. Spaghetti with shake cheese, meatloaf, corn salad. And sometimes meals would get more creative. Skinny noodle salad is a concoction of red cabbage and raw crunched up ramen noodles. It has got to be one of the cheapest, best salads on the planet that could quite literally feed an army.

Today though, the husband and I visited a different childhood classic, one my dad hated. My mom would make it when he was out of town. Its made of vile things, including mayonnaise, and I love it. A few years ago I decided I really wanted this for dinner. I came home from the grocery store with a handful of ingredients. The husband thought I was crazy. I made dinner, and he ate one of these oven-toasted open-faced sandwiches, and fell in love. Now he dances around and makes squealing noises when I suggest we should maybe have this for dinner.

What is this dish that not only includes but features mayonnaise that I'm willing to consume and enjoy doing so?

Ham pucks.

They're really quite simple. Make a ham salad, it on an English muffin, top it with some Swiss cheese, and throw it in the oven until the cheese is melted goodness.

I really can't comment more than that on the recipe. Ham salad means so many things. To me it means ham, mayonnaise, pickles, and onions all diced nice and fine. (Throw it all into a food processor for an easy, consistent almost pate-consistency). Want celery in yours? Add it? Feeding fifty people? Make more. Feeding only two? Make less. I find a half to three-fourths of a ham steak makes a reasonable amount for two. (Two normal people - I make more for the husband. He inhales these things).

I modify it a bit by using a home made mayonnaise. The stuff out of a jar really makes me want to hurl, so I make my own. Yes, this does involve using raw egg. But, I know where my eggs come from, and I know the birds are healthy. I wash the eggs myself. It's not for everyone, but, I prefer it.

This really is an easy dinner that can be thrown together in a half an hour or less, while half-dead. And at least in this household, it produces squeals of delight. Give it a try. Warm mayonnaise never tasted so good.

Trying Harder

Chad Smith, guest blogger for BNO this month, says we all should blog, writers especially. He suggests that blogging is more than just catharsisim (is that a word? the spell checker doesn't think so) in action; it is a way to practice craft, push yourself as a writer, and expand writing skills.

I happen to agree.

So, I'm trying harder. There's no reason to not. And, though I won't post any of my fiction work here (I'd rather see it in print than randomly up on my blog), I can still push myself to communicate more effectively. And maybe even try not to use adverbs on occasion. :)

And really, it is better than just 140 characters at a time.