turkey time

At this moment, the turkey is resting and all of the side dishes are done. After hours of prep and cook time, all that waits is for the guests to arrive and the food to get served. Until then, I’m going to steak these few quiet moments and write.

This is a chaotic, though pleasant, time. I like the creation process of cooking, gathering the ingredients, chopping, mixing, setting in dishes and putting them into ovens or stove tops. It reminds me of my favorite part of writing; the first moments when the story is new and is filled with possibility. The first few scenes come easy, the characters are alive, and I feel brilliant for coming up with the story.

Taking the food out of the oven, well, then its time to turn to the roommate. If the thing is big (like a turkey), I don’t want to be the one to take it out. I have this fear of getting burned, stemming from a moment years ago when, yes, I burned myself. In some way, this reminds me of revision. I can’t burn myself, but I have to be careful. One slip, and that story will come right back to me with a rejection slip.

It’s probably a reflection of how much Food Network I watch, but plating and serving has become more important to me as I’ve gotten older. Silverware has to match, the dishes have to match, the plates–you’d think I was assembling an SASE.

And yet, that kind of careful attention to the details really adds something. No one will wonder how long I spent picking out the little holiday gift beside their drinks, let alone notice that the small bags match the flowers on the table, but it adds something to the setting. A professional veneer that paper plates and plastic silverware could never offer.

Its pretty. I almost don’t want to let anyone near it.

The Thanksgiving plot calls for people, though. They’ll sit, they’ll eat, they’ll forget that I’m silently taking note of any amusing anecdotes they say for future story fodder. You can take the writer away from the story, but you can’t take the story away from the writer ;)