Writing a Novel is as Easy as Making Mac-n-Cheese

The problem with my claim is that I cannot make good homemade macaroni and cheese. The dish either comes out too thick and heavy and sticky, too dry and thick , or too stringy and tasteless.

My favorite recipe that I can more often cook correctly is called "Pioneer Macaroni and Cheese" from a 1954 Betty Crocker Cook Book (the ring binder version). The best thing about this recipe is that I do not have to make a sauce, béchamel or whatever. I cook the macaroni, place it in a baking dish, dot it with cubes of sharp cheese (does these mean cheddar or Velveeta?), dot it with little blobs of butter, combine 3 cups of milk with two beaten eggs, and pour over the contents in the baking dish. Then bake.

Still, it's not creamy Macaroni and Cheese. The recipe for that kind is listed directly under this pioneer dish. (Did you know pioneers made mac-n-cheese? I didn't.) This presents a huge problem because I must make a creamy sauce to produce a dish that melts in your mouth and isn't chewy like the pioneer dish.

Sometimes I like something that's smooth and creamy and goes down easy, but sometimes I like something I can get my teeth into, something chewy and satisfying. And if I'm not extremely careful, I can't create either one.

See? The process of cooking is very similar to writing. If I'm not vigilant, my story will be too soft with no satisfying substance, or my story will be too heavy and hard to chew.

Maybe I should stick with making quiche. I can do that. My quiche is perfection, my husband loves it, and I have the knack down to a "T."

By some stroke of luck, I began writing Western Romance novellas we call 99Cent Dime Novels. I did not have the recipe for these, but my publisher, Rebecca J. Vickery did, and she encouraged me to write one. With the help and advice from the artist, the incomparable Karen Michelle Nutt, we  created alluring (not too sexy) covers using Jimmy Thomas photos.

I wrote four Dime Novels, and to my surprise and delight they were highly successful. I may never write anything that gave me as much satisfaction as these have.

Now, all four Dime Novels are available in one book titled Lone Star Dreaming-A Western Romance Collection. $2.99 for the ebook, $11.95 for the print.

Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Lone-Star-Dreaming-Celia-Yeary/dp/1479224804/ref=sr_1_12?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1348775365&sr=1-12&keywords=celia+yeary

Barnes and Noble:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/Celia-Yeary?keyword=Celia+Yeary&store=book

 



The individual 99Cent Dime Novels are:
Angel and the Cowboy
Addie and the Gunslinger
Charlotte and the Tenderfoot
Kat and the U.S. Marshal

Celia Yeary-Romance...and a little bit 'o Texas
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/celiayeary
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ARE YOU EASILY BORED?

I'M BORED

This question on the on-line news page I read caught my attention. The topic really focused on careers, and which kinds of persons might be suited to something else, based upon their ability to entertain themselves...or not.

I've always said I could entertain myself. It's not easy for some people...I understand that. Our grandsons, in growing up, are not allowed to watch TV--no TV to watch, except one that has a DVD player, used only on weekends. Otherwise, these three boys must learn to "entertain themselves." This means playing outside most of the time, riding their bikes, skateboarding, in-line skating, reading, writing to some extent, building and inventing things, and restricted time on the computer. Not many children today are growing up in this manner. I don't mean to lecture, for I know each family is different.

Let's get back to us as adults. The article I read stated that those who bored easily might be best suited to jobs such as food critic, landscape architect, law enforcement, publicist, hotel concierge, bartender, or hair stylist.

So, whatever job or position you might have held, if you are an author, what drew you to this profession/hobby/job? I've not written anything most of my life, but if I had downtime from working (teaching), I read novels and magazines, collected recipes, did crewel embroidery and made pillows and framed pictures, sewed and made a few clothes, gardened some, did crafts...in other words, I was rarely bored.

Even when I retired, I have not become bored.

Even at an early age, when I lay down in the dark and closed my eyes, I almost always invented a little story in my head. Now I realize I was a writer--I just didn't write anything down. I made up characters and scenes until I went to sleep. No, I didn't remember them the next day, but still...the process kept me from being bored.

Now I cannot find time enough to really write. Bored? Never. I'm too involved with my women's Bible study group, my writer's group, my longtime ex-teachers group, and my husband. In addition, I am the world's great "piddler." (If you don't know the meaning of that term, then you're not one.)

So, I ask you.
Are you easily bored?
Or are you constantly trying to find more time to write in your busy life?
If you worked, did your job bore you?

Celia Yeary-Romance...and a little bit 'o Texas

ANGEL AND THE COWBOY

ADDIE AND THE GUNSLINGER

CHARLOTTE AND THE TENDERFOOT

KAT AND THE U.S. MARSHAL

99Cent Dime Novels

Amazon, Smashwords, Monkeybars, B&N