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February 26, 2007
Gumbo Lessons
During my week in Louisiana, I learned at least three ways to make gumbo: with and without okra, file on the rice or file in the gumbo, and browning the flour first or browning the onions first. I also learned how to eat it, Cajun-style: spoon rice into a bowl, sprinkle with file (ground dried sassafras leaves), ladle on the gumbo, then make a well in the gumbo-rice mix and plop in a scoop of homemade potato salad (made with red potatoes).
All the different recipes for this bayou staple got me to thinking about writing. We all draw from the same staples: characters, setting, questions. But our individual ways of looking at the world, of making sense of life's ups and downs, even personal preferences (some folks actually prefer to have their potato salad on the side!), influence how we put a story's ingredients together. And just as there is no one way to make gumbo, there is no one way to write a story. In fact, you want to bring as much of yourself to your work -- that's what will insure that it is unique and fresh, not generic and cliche.
I teach a workshop that meets in my home on Tuesday nights. There's an imaginary can on the table and anytime anyone disses their own work -- "My story isn't as good as Sarah's," -- I make them put a "quarter" in the can. While it certainly is important to read others' work and to think about what makes certain stories speak to you, it isn't at all helpful to fall into the trap of thinking, "Well, I didn't do it like that so something must be wrong with my work."
When you start to get sucked into this kind of negative self-talk, just think about making gumbo.
It's tasty, no matter how it's put together.
Now, get back to work.
Posted by kirby at February 26, 2007 10:10 AM
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