Write What You Know

A View from the Lake...

As I read the latest post from Margaret Atwood, “My Poor Little Substack…How I have been neglecting you!” I was heartened knowing that the accomplished author felt compelled to apologize for not posting. Oh yes, she has some REALLY good reasons why she has been negligent – some of which had me laughing out loud! Thanks, Margaret, for guilting me into this post!

I think I know why writers turn to drink! And it’s not necessarily due to the creative process. More likely the “attempt to become published” process. Armed with a list of over 350 book agents who publish memoirs, I’ve begun querying them to, hopefully, entice one of those brave souls to take a chance on my book, JUST CALL ME IRENE: A MEMOIR. Sending out queries is a task not to be undertaken by the faint-of-heart. After the first 45 emails, I’m only up to “F” in the list. Writing the damn book wasn’t this difficult!

With that in mind, I’m taking a quick break for a blood-pressure check (yes, it’s a little high). To combat that I decided baking some cookies would help. Baking is my go-to stress reliever and cookies have that instant gratification factor. My favorite, quick, recipe is for Peanut Butter Cookies – made without a mixer – and they bake in 10 minutes. Recipe at the end of this post if you’re interested.

30 min later: cookies baked and blood pressure slightly lowered. Let’s finish this Substack post…

I do believe anyone can write what they know but putting words in a format that entices readers to keep reading is another matter. I often tap into my younger son’s Master’s Degree in Writing for guidance. His ability to read, edit, and advise me, “that’s crap” or “mom, stop jumping around…watch your tense…yada yada,” is invaluable (he would hate this post). However, me being me, his advice is sometimes taken with a shaker-of-salt – RIP Jimmy Buffett. It’s always 5 o’clock somewhere – thankfully! There we go with the drinking reference again.

This week I am looking forward to publication of my latest article, THE GIRLS WHO DANCED, in History Magazine, Moorshead Magazines. My mother, now 96, is one of those girls who left home, at age 14, to entertain in war-torn England’s darkest hours. Thanks to my father, an archivist (okay, a hoarder) of old pictures, papers, playbills, and diaries, the story developed quickly. Dad’s vintage collection, along with mom’s sketchy memory of those years, and Google’s ability to fill in historical gaps, allowed me to capture a slice of life in Britain at the time.

I am very grateful to Ed Zapletal, Publisher/Editor of History Magazine for including THE GIRLS WHO DANCED in the 2023 Fall issue (available soon at Borders, Barnes & Noble, and other quality newsstands in the US and Canada. Or online with subscription). Ed supported my writing through the Covid years when magazines took a huge hit in the marketplace. Three of his four magazines managed to survive the pandemic: Your Genealogy Today, Internet Genealogy, and History Magazine despite numerous difficulties with staffing, production, and distribution. In an era of decline in the print market, it is truly admirable to plow-on and embrace people’s genuine desire to turn real paper pages. http://www.moorshead.com

One of my favorite Canadian authors, Terry Fallis, A Novel Journey (Substack), launched his latest book, A NEW SEASON, a couple of weeks ago. It has hit #1 on two best seller lists – congrats Terry! I was introduced to Terry’s books during pandemic lockdown in my mother’s small apartment in Ontario, Canada. For 14 days in isolation, each time I crossed the “closed” international border, this Quarantine Queen immersed herself in Terry’s prose. I read all his books and love his vivid, charismatic characters. He also gave me the incentive I needed to continue writing. After reading Terry’s own account of his early struggles to become published, I plowed ahead with my manuscript, JUST CALL ME IRENE.

I voraciously read writers/authors guidance and advice regarding their craft. One size doesn’t fit all but ‘write what you know’ is basic to all – writers begin with something familiar to them. A finished product may take hundreds of twists and turns from the first draft. However, the basic theme is often rooted in personal knowledge of some sort. As another of my favorite authors, Louise Penny, has said, writing should have a “sense of place.” Take that in any number of ways. It works for me on many levels whether it be geographic, ideological, or philosophical as in a writer’s particular world view. Your writing, your article, your book, is you on a page. The good, the bad, and sometimes, the ugly.

As we move into autumn, happy writing and reading to all! See you in a couple of weeks. I’m ready for a glass of wine…and a few cookies…

1 cup butter - softened

1 cup peanut butter – whichever kind you prefer

1 cup white sugar (I use about ¾ cup)

1 cup brown sugar (again about ¾ cup)

2 eggs

Mix all above together with a wooden spoon.

2 ½ cups flour

1 ½ tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

Pinch of salt

Optional: any kind of chopped nuts if you don’t use chunky peanut butter

Mix dry ingredients into wet…form into 1 inch balls. Place on parchment on cookie sheet. Criss-cross the top of each ball with a fork to flatten a bit. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 min.

HINT: Cut ingredients in half if you want less cookies to temp you!!