Saturday, January 30, 2010

The Peanut Butter Solution

By Keith Fisher

I asked my daughter what I should write about this morning, and she suggested peanut butter. Since I don’t have an agenda . . . well, it is good. Think of the rich creamy smoothness, and how it feels in your mouth.

“What about chunky?” you ask.

Well, do you remember getting a spoonful stuck to the roof of your mouth? That brown oral, cement, impregnated with little pieces, left you confused whether you should chew or just twirl it around your tongue.

Ain’t it grand? Having to pick all that chunky goodness out of you teeth? Then, having to deal with the peanut butter induced heartburn, brings new dimensions to your anti-acid dependency. What? That has never happened to you? Give it a few years. :)

Every week on this blog I try to offer a different prospective to struggling writers. Sometimes I get a lot of comments, sometimes I don’t. Make no mistake—I love comments. I like to read what people think, and realize I’m not alone in my struggle.

The truth is, we all have issues of uncertainty and days when we wonder why we torture ourselves. We entertain thoughts of escaping to a tropical beach or a high mountain to get away from it all. Then, we start thinking about how nice it would be to take our writing along.

A while back, I watched a remake of the old movie, Yours Mine and Ours. I spent the majority of the picture feeling jealous of the lighthouse tower where the family lived. Can you image how it would be to convert that space into an office for writing?

We could explore the how and why it got there, but the fact is writing is in our blood. On bad days, when I don’t want to do anything, much less write, I’ve found that if I force myself to put words together, life gets better. I lose my troubles in writing and I am renewed.

Also, finding kinship with other writers validates my feelings. It truly is wonderful to be part of a group who understands the pain of killing a cherished character, or having to rewrite a chapter, because your protagonist showed you a better way. I’m part of a large group of folks who have writing in our soul. It’s nice to be encouraged, even better to do the encouraging.

Just like peanut butter helped me focus my thoughts for this blog, my friends help me believe. Thank you to my writing friends. I hope to be able to help you too. Leave comments and remember chocolate goes well with peanut butter.

Good luck with your writing—see you next week

3 comments:

Kimberly Job said...

I'm honestly not sure there's a better combination that pb/chocolate.

You are my biggest support. I wouldn't be having a book published if it weren't for you. I just hope I can give back in return.

L.T. Elliot said...

You're a life-giver, Keith. You always give back with what you know and you always write with heart (even if it's about peanut butter).

And I'd LOVE that lighthouse study!

Krista said...

Your post made me go get a spoonful of PB, which I then spiked with chocolate chips. Writing can be so sweet. We just have to remember.
THANK YOU!