Saturday, May 14, 2016

Writing Updates + Lemonade Recipe

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So far, May has been pretty uneventful but productive, which makes me happy. I’m deep in the midst of first-drafting--in some ways my favorite part of writing and in other ways my least favorite, since every story is so MESSY and convoluted. But things are moving along steadily(ish) for the first time in ages, so I can’t complain too much.


At the moment I’m working on two stories, one short and one (hopefully) book-length. Book-Length Story is about ghosts, psychopomps, and the West Virginia Panhandle, and is so far a complete mess but one I’m really enjoying working on. There’s something a bit magical about writing two characters who have chemistry--not romantic chemistry, but the ability to hold interesting conversations and work off each other. I’m always a little surprised when that happens; it’s not something you can force.


Short Story is about mermaids, Peter Pan, and Neverland. Mostly mermaids. My twin sister and I used to get into arguments about the best spots in Neverland. I always wanted to live in the Mermaids’ Lagoon, and she always wanted to live with the Indians. The seed of this story has been in my head for a very long time, and I was actually trying to write something else when it more or less forced its way onto the page. Like Book-Length Story, it needs work, but for now I’m having a ton of fun watching the first draft come together.

Okay, on to the recipe!




This week, one of my other sisters (I have three) taught me how to make lemonade out of fresh-squeezed lemons. This recipe only makes one serving, but it’s easy to double and delicious. Plus there’s nothing more summery than lemonade.


Ingredients:
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp water
1 lemon


Boil the water and sugar to make a simple syrup. Squeeze the juice of one lemon into a tall glass already filled with ice. Pour in the simple syrup, fill the glass with cold water, and mix well.


And those are the most interesting things I’ve done this month. How have your summers been going?

Watercolor garland from Angie Makes.  
Picture credit:

6 comments:

  1. I didn't know you were a twin.
    Your stories sound intriguing! Happy writing! ^^

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    1. I'm the oldest, but only by a couple minutes. She's a writer too, and a wonderful critique partner.
      Thank you! I hope you're having a wonderful summer so far.

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  2. Your writing projects sound great!! So interesting :) and that lemonade sounds just perfect... although I wouldn't call it summer in Canada yet! In true northern form, we had snow yesterday!!

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    1. We haven't had any snow for months (thank goodness) but the last three weeks or so have been depressingly gray and rainy. We're finally starting to get some good weather, though.

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  3. I love your thoughts on chemistry; they seem so true. I think that's why we get so excited about certain characters in general. They just have a perpetual meaning to one another.

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    1. Characters who "mesh" together are so tricky to write, because it's not something you create so much as discover. At least for me. So when I read a story that has great chemistry between characters I'm both incredibly happy and incredibly envious.

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