Accent and Transition Plus Chocolate Treasure Cupcakes

WRITING TIP

The Kauffman Garden at 4800 Rockhill in Kansas City, Missouri is already in full beautiful spring bloom. Last week I met a friend there for a brown bag lunch. I arrived early and took some pictures.

Can you see the dark plants at the bottom of the photo? Ornamental cabbages. They lead our eye from the adjoining bed to this one and up to that one spot of yellow accent. It makes for a pleasing bed doesn't it?

Our writing is like this. We need something almost invisible to move us from one place to the next in the story. Transitions do the job. When they are doing their job, the reader doesn't even notice she is being moved from one time or place or character to another. A transition can be a word, phrase, paragraph or even pages. It can be as simple as the words now, later, after a while, or before they were married. Think of it as a sort of ornamental cabbage of writing.

Now, what about that one yellow tulip? Pretty, isn't it? In the entire two acres of the Kauffman Garden, this was the only spot where there was one lone yellow tulip among a group of other flowers. It really grabs attention doesn't it?

In our writing we want a few yellow tulips, but just as it is in this garden, we don't want to overdo them. Too many precious phrases, too many lovely metaphors, too many exclamation points, too much dialect, and the writing loses impact. Use them sparingly.

WRITING PROMPT

If you were a plant, which would you rather be? An ornamental cabbage or a yellow tulip? Which would you rather have as a friend?

CHOCOLATE INKWELL

This recipe appears to have been cut from the side of a cake mix box. I have no idea how a boxed mix would get into my house.

Hidden Treasure Cupcakes

Prepare cupcakes as directed (on the cake mix box that mysteriously appeared in your pantry)

Before baking, top each cupcake with any flavor miniature sized candy bar.

Bake as directed and cool completely.

Frost cupcakes with Fluffy Fudge Frosting (frosting in a can -- horrors! -- mixed with whipped topping).

Top cupcakes with chopped candy bars.

Store loosely covered in refrigerator (or on your hips).

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Do It Now and Chocolate Sandwiches

WRITING TIP

Here are my daffodils gone wild that I should have included last week. Took a while to find the photo. I haven't quite mastered Photoshop. Actually, I can't even use the organizer, probably the simplest part of Photoshop. Now, I can't take a class to learn. My version is obsolete. There's a lesson there: Do it now. Whatever it is -- do it now.

Susan Sanders is a great example of what happens when you do it now. I met Susan when she came to a life story writing class I was teaching.

A little more than a year ago, Susan's partner of twenty years passed away after a sudden illness. Susan had been keeping journals for years; but after Kathy Ruth's death, Susan started new writing, and in one year, wrote and self-published a 208-page soft cover memoir -- Quicksand, A Love Story.

Susan was born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee. The back cover of the book describes her this way: "... this Southern woman was different. Yes, she was married. Her husband was a doctor. She was a psychotherapist. But, she was also gay.

Okay, if you are having a little jolt of discomfort because you are reading about a gay woman here, let me tell you about something that has been in the news lately. One important way to keep your brain active and lively as you age, is to engage in discussion about new ideas, even ideas with which you disagree. You may never agree, but it will give your brain a workout. Or maybe a memoir by a gay woman is fine with you.

Either way, when you read Susan's story, you can't help but relate to the universal themes of love and grief. And, through Susan's efforts there is now a gay-lesbian grief support group in Kansas City.

Susan will be signing her book on Saturday, May 8, 1-3 pm, at the Border's on Metcalf just south of 119th in Overland Park, Kansas. The book is funny and sad and enlightening. The signing is worth attending just to meet Susan and to hear her southern accent.

Susan told me she had been trying to figure out how to shape all the writing in her journals into a memoir. She said that a line from my Write Your Life Story in Eight Weeks Workbook (available at www.angelinyourinkwell.com/buy.html) was the key to the process. The line (p.16): Imagine yourself at lunch with a friend.

So -- what is the Writing Tip today? Do it now.

WRITING PROMPT

Answer the following question. Imagine yourself at lunch with a friend. The friend asks, "How did you become the person you are today?"

CHOCOLATE INKWELL

This is a recipe so simple you can do it now. I think this recipe is from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food magazine. (When will I remember to name and date pages I rip from magazines?) If your morning was like mine -- furnace repair and health insurance company telephone recordings -- we deserve this comforting treat, don't you think?

Milk Chocolate and Peanut Butter on Pound Cake Sandwiches

Butter 4 slices pound cake. Place 2 slices, buttered side down, on a work surface.
Top each with 1 1/2 teaspoons creamy peanut butter and 1 tablespoon melted milk chocolate.
Top each with 1 slice pound cake, buttered side up.
Heat a medium skillet over medium. Add sandwiches and toast, flipping once, until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side.
Slice each sandwich into 4 pieces and serve warm. (Serves 4)
My note: Oh yeah? Make that Serves 1.

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Daffodils Gone Wild and Banana Split Brownie

WRITING TIP

This weekend I finally got outside to do some gardening. The daffodils had gone wild with the bone meal I applied last spring, and while they are pretty, they have spread to an area where I don't want them. I asked my gardening neighbor, who was also out, planting pretty diagonal rows of marigolds and ageratum, when and how to thin daffodils. She was unsure. An online search supplied the answer that daffodils are dormant in July and that is the time to thin them. The bulbs can be saved and planted elsewhere.

After gardening, I worked on a bit of writing for the Advanced Life Story Writing Group's spring anthology. My piece is about learning to sew, buying my first sewing machine, buying fabric. I also wrote about saving my salary to buy the sewing machine, what my job was, and why I had that job.

Upon re-reading the piece, it seemed to me that with the job information, I had wandered off into wild daffodil territory. My story had spread into areas where it did not really need to go. These extra sentences, like the extra daffodils, had to be dug out. Also, like the daffodils, those sentences could be used elsewhere, in some other piece of writing.

That reminded me of this Spanish saying I had clipped from the gardening section of The Kansas City Star last May: More in a garden grows than what the gardener sows. That is true on many levels. The saying tempts me to wander off into a discourse on the many rewards of gardening, but then I would be back into the wild daffodils wouldn't I? I'll save those thoughts for another day.

WRITING PROMPT

Write about an event, person, idea or thing that has popped up unexpectedly in your life at any time. Did you cultivate it? Did you weed it out?

CHOCOLATE INKWELL

While doing a short stint of housesitting for My Young Advisor, I spotted a little book of recipes she thoughtfully had left beside a big comfortable chair. The recipes were all provided by her co-workers. As she guessed I would, I picked it up and scanned for chocolate recipes. I may never have to search another source. Where to begin? How about a Pampered Chef recipe from Debbie P. ? This recipe calls for baking on a Pampered Chef rectangular baking stone. If you don't have one, I'm sure you can figure out a substitute because this recipe is basically like a cookie fruit pizza, only better because it's chocolate.

Pampered Chef Banana Split Brownie

brownie mix (9 x 13-inch size)
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
strawberries, bananas, drained, crushed pineapple
chocolate syrup
chopped nuts

Bake brownie on Pampered Chef rectangular baking stone, lined with parchment paper, according to brownie package directions. (Keep an eye on it, depending on the size and shape of cake pan, pizza pan or bakeware that you use.)

Cool. Mix cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla. Spread on cooled brownie. Top with fresh fruit. Drizzle with chocolate syrup. (Is that the most beautiful sentence in the English language?) Sprinkle with chopped nuts.

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A Tasty Approach to Writing and Nutty Popcorn Fudge

WRITING TIP



Thursday evening longtime friend, Shelia P., called from her home in Wichita Falls, Texas. We chatted a bit and then she said, "Could I ask a favor?"

I didn't hesitate. "Sure," I said. But when she told me what she wanted, I burst out laughing and said, "No. No way."

She wanted me to write a tribute to her best friend, who is also her sister-in-law and next-door neighbor. I have never met this woman, Peggy (I'm not sure if I remember her name right. Too busy laughing.) Shelia needed the tribute the next day, Friday.

I said, "Tell me about Peggy." Shelia did, and I said, "Now write that down. There's your tribute."

I was about to launch into my lecture about writing being a three-part process and that Shelia was in that uncomfortable first part, pre-writing. It is the time when ideas jump around in your mind, and you pace the kitchen searching for something crunchy and chocolate to ease the anxiety.

I got only as far as "three-part" when Shelia said, "Oh yeah, that's what I told my little ones when I taught writing to my grade school kids."

She cut off my lecture as she jumped into her own lecture. She told me how she explained to the children that a piece of writing is like a hamburger. There are three parts: the top bun, the insides, and the bottom bun. The top bun lets you know this is a hamburger, just as the first of a story lets the reader know what the story is about. The insides -- the lettuce, pickles, onions, tomatoes -- are the details. And the bottom bun holds everything together, just as the story ending does.


What the heck was Shelia calling me for? She had it all wrapped up in juicy goodness. Not only that, but she has a blog that is pretty and fun and that showcases her writing ability every week: A Rose and a Baby Ruth.

She whined a little but agreed that she could, and should, write Peggy's tribute herself. Just a case of pre-writing anxiety.

WRITING PROMPT

I love Shelia's clever idea about a piece of writing being like a hamburger. Makes me want a hamburger, too. Let's think about hamburgers. If you could be served a perfect hamburger, what would it be like? Where would you be? What would the day be like? Who would be with you? I'm thinking thick juicy burger patty, New Mexico, with fresh green chiles, warm sunshine, cool breeze, mountains in the distance. How about you? What's your perfect hamburger? You know it could be a veggie burger. How about a noodle burger? Make it whatever you want.

CHOCOLATE INKWELL

Here is the perfect pre-writing treat. It's chocolate and crunchy, both. Great for pre-writing anxiety. This recipe is from an old clipping from The Kansas City Star. Sorry, I did not note the date.

Nutty Popcorn Fudge

4 cups popped popcorn
1 (18-ounce) package semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
2 tablespoons butter or margarine (I say go for butter.)
1 cup toasted slivered almonds
1 teaspoon vanilla.

Line a 9-by-13-inch pan with foil: set aside.
Melt chocolate chips, condensed milk, and butter in large saucepan, stirring until smooth; remove from heat. Stir in popcorn, nuts, and vanilla. Spread mixture evenly in prepared pan. Chill 2 hours or until firm. Remove from pan and cut into squares.
The recipe says this makes 32 servings. That must be a typo -- right? Surely they mean 3 or 2 servings.

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Grab Bag and Gooey Toffee Bars

WRITING TIP

As you know, writing is a three-part process: pre-writing, writing, and re-writing. Here are some items from my blog file to help with the pre-writing stage. Fill your mind with new images and ideas.

Here is something fun to look forward to: Lawrence (Kansas) Art in the Park, Sunday May 2nd from 10 to 5. Look for Nancy Longman's Garden Variety Wisdom art and words.

A quote from Billy Graham: A mystery and wonder of prayer is that God often waits until someone asks. I once heard it said that Heaven's storeroom is full of answers for which no one bothered to ask. -- Billy Graham

From Janet F., a long-ago co-worker (actually my superior) who describes herself as a "proud grandmother," came an article that her 12-year-old granddaughter wrote and that was published in the Kansas City Regional Fox Trotting Horse Association Newsletter, Nov. 2009. In writing about winning a ribbon with her horse, Granddaughter does a great job of using all the senses and describing her emotion as she takes the reader through her day. Well done, and a good review in good writing for established writers.

A while back I promised to share the winter reading list sent by Jane S. Here it is, with Jane's comments.

Dakota: A Spiritual Geography. Non Fiction. Kathleen Norris. Very interesting to anyone who grew up in a small rural town…went to NY, became writer, and after a few years moved back to farm in South Dakota…gives insight into church or other groups in cities that are made up of people who have moved from small towns.

They Were Just People: Stories of Rescue In Poland During The Holocaust Non Fiction by (Kansas Citians) Bill Tammeus and Rabbi Jacques Cukierkorn Very good.

The Slave Next Door: Human Trafficking and Slavery in America Today. Kevin Bales and Ron Soodalter. A "hot" social issue.

Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II by Douglas A. Blackmon (This is a link to the book.)

Methland: The Death and Life of an American Small Town by Nick Reding .

Supreme Conflict: The Inside Story of the Struggle for Control of the United States Supreme Court by Jan Crawford Greenburg.

Outliers by Malcom Gladwell.

Thanks, Jane, for the book suggestions.

Here's a note from Marcia Fleischman: I have my second book out...Wild Woman Theology: In the Arms of Loving Mother God. I have rewritten the stories af many of the women in the Bible with humor and a feminist twist. I did all of the illustrations. Copies are available from me or from Author house bookstore. They are on Amazon but are much more expensive there.I am open to do presentations to women's groups or any group for that matter.

Marcia is an interesting woman in her own right, with an interesting story. Her book should be interesting, too.

CHOCOLATE INKWELL

The recipe today is from Vickie H. It isn't actually chocolate, but Vickie says it is gooey and good so I think it is worth including, don't you? Throw some chocolate chips on top and make it chocolate. (Thanks, Vickie.)

Gooey Toffee Bars

1 box yellow cake mix

1 large egg

1/2 cup butter, melted

Filling:

1 (8 ounce) package of cream cheese

2 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 (16 ounce) box confectioners sugar

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 cup toffee bits

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix cake mix, egg, butter. Mix well.

Filling:

With mixer, beat cream cheese, eggs, sugar, vanilla.

Fold in toffee bits.

Bake 40 - 50 minutes. Remove from oven, cool, cut in squares. (Maybe this would be a good time to toss on some chocolate chips.)

Vickie says you want the middle to be a little gooey. She also says, this is rich so a little will go a long way.

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