Food for Thought, with a Cherry on Top :)
I recently saw a description for an intriguing workshop offered by the Highlights Foundation, titled “Food and Fiction.”
My first thought was, “How cool is that?” My second was, “Blast it all, my secret is out.” Okay, so it's about the worst-kept secret in the world since I talk about it all the time (as those in my critique groups can attest to), but seriously...nothings adds spice to your scenes like throwing in a little food. Think of the Redwall feasts... Harry Potter's pumpkin pasties and treacle tarts... Anne Shirley's run-in with raspberry cordial... I remember craving cinnamon toast and lemonade for weeks after reading Elise Broach's Shakespeare's Secret.
Food is a big part of who we are, our cultural identities and our individual personalities. You could probably guess a lot about my nationalities and/or family background just by hearing some of my favorite foods: pierogi, sauerkraut, corned beef, fresh maple syrup. You'd get a (rather embarrassing) insight into my personality if you knew that when I was two/three years old and Dad would put hot sauce on my siblings' and my tongues if we bit one another when we fought, I cockily asked for more...and then received that punishment so many times that I developed a real fondness for spicy foods.
I sometimes eat fruit loops one color at a time. I like to bite hard candy, but I suck skittles to make them last longer. (Okay, so maybe the picture you're getting is just that I'm weird...)
On top of this character-revealing aspect, one of the great benefits of food is that it simply gives your characters something to do—and their personalities will be further illuminated by how they do that. How many times have you written a scene and scrambled around in your mind for something, anything, for the characters to do with their hands while they chatted about the evil lord about to take over the world (or something like that...)? The scene takes on a new aspect altogether if your hero pulls out a Snickers and casually chews it, or your heroine chokes on her raspberry cordial, or the evil lord shows up to steal their last loaf of bread, or, or, or.... The possibilities are endless.
Then there are those ever-important sensory details. Nothing is going to pull a reader into your scene like the smell of frying bacon or the taste and texture of a just-picked blackberry. I know just reading about the smell of ginger and cloves will always make me feel like it's Christmas. A sentence where watermelon juice is dripping down someone's chin will put me right back at the beach in the middle of summer.
And, finally, when you have that release party someday, you want to have some great snacks to serve up, right? Book-themed snacks are always the best. :)
(Incidentally, when THE WITHERING VINE is released someday, I am definitely having a private party with fine Pinot Noir. But for the big bash, they'll be lots of Welch's, some homemade bread, French cheese, and as many kinds of grapes as I can find.... I hope you can be there! :)
My first thought was, “How cool is that?” My second was, “Blast it all, my secret is out.” Okay, so it's about the worst-kept secret in the world since I talk about it all the time (as those in my critique groups can attest to), but seriously...nothings adds spice to your scenes like throwing in a little food. Think of the Redwall feasts... Harry Potter's pumpkin pasties and treacle tarts... Anne Shirley's run-in with raspberry cordial... I remember craving cinnamon toast and lemonade for weeks after reading Elise Broach's Shakespeare's Secret.
Food is a big part of who we are, our cultural identities and our individual personalities. You could probably guess a lot about my nationalities and/or family background just by hearing some of my favorite foods: pierogi, sauerkraut, corned beef, fresh maple syrup. You'd get a (rather embarrassing) insight into my personality if you knew that when I was two/three years old and Dad would put hot sauce on my siblings' and my tongues if we bit one another when we fought, I cockily asked for more...and then received that punishment so many times that I developed a real fondness for spicy foods.
I sometimes eat fruit loops one color at a time. I like to bite hard candy, but I suck skittles to make them last longer. (Okay, so maybe the picture you're getting is just that I'm weird...)
On top of this character-revealing aspect, one of the great benefits of food is that it simply gives your characters something to do—and their personalities will be further illuminated by how they do that. How many times have you written a scene and scrambled around in your mind for something, anything, for the characters to do with their hands while they chatted about the evil lord about to take over the world (or something like that...)? The scene takes on a new aspect altogether if your hero pulls out a Snickers and casually chews it, or your heroine chokes on her raspberry cordial, or the evil lord shows up to steal their last loaf of bread, or, or, or.... The possibilities are endless.
Then there are those ever-important sensory details. Nothing is going to pull a reader into your scene like the smell of frying bacon or the taste and texture of a just-picked blackberry. I know just reading about the smell of ginger and cloves will always make me feel like it's Christmas. A sentence where watermelon juice is dripping down someone's chin will put me right back at the beach in the middle of summer.
And, finally, when you have that release party someday, you want to have some great snacks to serve up, right? Book-themed snacks are always the best. :)
(Incidentally, when THE WITHERING VINE is released someday, I am definitely having a private party with fine Pinot Noir. But for the big bash, they'll be lots of Welch's, some homemade bread, French cheese, and as many kinds of grapes as I can find.... I hope you can be there! :)
Thanks for this reminder of how to use food as a prop and a way to reveal character.
ReplyDeleteI don't remember the book, but the writer described lasagna in such a way that I could think of nothing else until I had a plate of my own.
PaulaKayMac
I couldn't agree with you more, Faith. Food is fundamental.
ReplyDeleteI'm sometimes afraid I include food too often because I love food! And then sometimes, as I'm reading what my character is eating or drinking, I find myself wanting the same. It's funny.
ReplyDeleteYum, that sounds good! I'll come to your launch party. :) Can I come to the one with the real wine? lol!
ReplyDeleteAmy