The Season for Kvetching…and Barbeque!

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The Editor Unleashed/Smashwords Flash Fiction 40 contest closed to voting this weekend. I know I’m not alone when I say I’m glad. It was an emotional experience, watching my story ride the whimsical wave of voter favor. In the end, I finished a respectable 9th. I’m satisfied.

Except for the hollowness.

Turns out the ranking was more than just a process. It was a distraction. A source of euphoria and blistering outrage. It was something to email WB’s about while we kvetched over the voting. But now it’s gone and it’s time let go and write again.

Yep, the season for kvetching has ended.

Lucky for me, I have transition activities to help me switch gears. These days, I’m embracing grilling season on my glorious new gas grill. Some transitions are easy, like getting rid of the crusty old Char-grill, a fire hazard of a beast that breathed licking dragon tongues of flame. I lost more arm hair to that monster than I care to admit. The end of the Char-grill’s season couldn’t come soon enough for me.

With the new grill has come a new sense of adventure. And some misadventures, but mainly successes. For those who are interested, here’s my latest effort. This came out so juicy, it left a pool or beer-infused yumminess on my plate. We enjoyed it with lightly grilled bruschetta and a mixed greens salad.

BEER ME CHICKEN

Seasoning:

1 Tbsp seasoned salt (I use Lawry’s)
1 Tbsp poultry seasoning
1 Tbsp onion powder
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp. Hungarian paprika
1 tsp. smoked paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1 – 4# whole chicken
1 – 12 oz. can beer (use the cheap stuff)
4 Tbsp. butter, melted
4 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

Mix seasonings in a small bowl. Loosen skin all over chicken, including legs, being careful not to tear skin. Rub 1/2 of seasoning mixture on meat under skin. Tuck wings for roasting. Place in a dish and refrigerate overnight.

When you’re ready to cook, preheat grill to medium-low heat.

Discard (or drink) 1/2 of beer. Add remaining seasonings, 2 Tbsp butter and 2 Tbsp EVOO to can. Spray can with non-stick spray. Place chicken over beer can. Stand the chicken and beer up on a disposable foil pan. (Use the legs to form a tripod.) Combine remaining EVOO and butter. Rub over surface of chicken.

Place foil pan on preheated grill. Grill 1 hour, or until chicken was cooked through. Remove chicken from can and place on serving platter. Cover with foil. Discard beer. Let chicken stand 10 minutes before carving.

Serves 4.

Salad Days

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This morning, as I was making celery seed dressing for tonight’s salad, it occurred to me that writing is a lot like salad. You can serve a good salad with no dressing at all. The unadulterated ingredients taste good all in their own right. But a little dressing can bring the whole thing together and make the dish shine.

This is the dilemma I’ve been facing with my Flash 40 contest entry. “Mirror, Mirror” was a departure for me because I wrote it without my usual bag of tricks. I tend to use setting as a character in my stories. In this case, the setting was barely addressed. It felt a lot like that undressed salad and I wondered if the story suffered without it. But, after a lot of thought, I wanted the story as bare bones as possible, feeling it was a better match for my narrator’s overwhelmed state of mind.

Since the ranking process began, I’ve been keeping close tabs on my entry. So far, “Mirror, Mirror” is faring well. I’m neck in neck with good friends, all of whom I’d be proud to lose to. It appears my gamble paid off.

As for the salad, I’m going to share the recipe. This one’s a summer favorite here. For the salad itself, use leafy greens of your choice. Something tender is usually best. Top them with sliced nectarines and blueberries or strawberries. A little thinly sliced red onion adds a pleasant punch.

Celery Seed Dressing

Whisk together in a microwave safe bowl:

1/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp cider vinegar
2 Tbsp honey
1-1/4 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp Hungarian paprika
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp finely grated onion
1/2 tsp celery seed
generous pinch of salt

Cook on high for 1-1/2 mins.

Whisk in:

1/3 cup canola oil

Chill until serving. Served with greens and fruit.

Are We Having Fun Yet?

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Lately, my attention has been hijacked by the Editor Unleashed / Smashwords Flash Fiction 40 Contest. It’s a great contest with a simple premise: write a short story under 1000 words and post it in the Editor Unleashed Forum. Forum members will vote, the editors will make their choices, and the top 40 stories will be published in an e-book by Smashwords. Simple, right?

Well, not really.

Let me explain: This week, I posted my entry, “Mirror, Mirror.” I felt good about it and figured I had a strong chance of making it into the top 40. I’d been reading other entries in preparation for voting. My “no” list was miles long, my “yeses” and “maybes” tallied in the scraggly handfuls. Many of the stories were laden with fundamental errors. Starting the story in the wrong place, errors in syntax, weak or nonexistent character arcs, stilted dialogue, you name it.

During this first phase of reading, I’d describe my experience as enlightening and affirming. I was learning a lot about life with the slush pile. I felt positive about my work.

Lately, my feelings have shifted. I’ve been fortunate to read several truly exceptional entries. With each, I’ve seen my chances dwindle. I’ve been forced to look at my work honestly and I can see there’s need for growth.

I don’t know why exactly that bothers me. I already know I have lots to learn. I already know I’m the sort who makes progress through hard work rather than by possessing literary genius. And I know there are MANY non-geniuses who make six and seven figures as writers. They find their niche and they know how to work it.

But it still brings to mind many questions. Should I push myself as hard as I do? Am I being distracted by platform and market positioning? Where can I best fit into the publishing hierarchy? Am I doing a good job of balancing writing with my life? But the biggest question I don’t have an answer for: am I still having fun?

Big questions, and no easy answers. Seems to me there’s a fine line between getting somewhere and enjoying the journey. One little contest sure has given me a lot to think about.

The Middle of Nowhere

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I’ve turned my attention to a little nonfiction project. My workshop instructor, Gail, is encouraging us to enter The Sun’s Readers Write contests. So I’m plugging away at the March 1 deadline theme: The Middle of Nowhere.

This theme screams to me for so many reasons. The middle of nowhere is my childhood encapsulated. I am an only child. I grew up on a farm that had been allowed to return to prairie. I spent my ‘tween years making long, lonely bike rides into town, my bike whizzing through the middle of nowhere. And there’s an avalanche of sharp emotional stuff that’s hard to share.

A favorite memory is walking home from the middle school I attended. On nice days, I’d get this wild need in me to be free the moment the final bell rang. The buses sat parked, waiting in front of the building. All the kids streamed like lemmings toward them. But I’d sneak out the back and hike across the playground, across the baseball diamond and the long expanse of purposeless grass. I’d feel that yoke of peer pressure and school garbage melt off me as the schoolyard melted into the woods. I’d walk along the edge of the woods, forest on one side, tall grass on the other, for a mile or more until the woods faded away into a patchwork quilt of muddy corn fields. In Spring I was careful to stick to the rutted tractor path, picking my way across the matted bleached grass. Eventually, the path led to a small brook. There were a few well placed stones that even I (never graceful, no matter how I tried) could cross without getting my feet wet. A little further along the cornfield and I’d clamber up the ditch onto the road in front of my house. Sometimes the bus whooshed past me in a gush of gray exhaust as I stood on the tractor path, waiting to cross to home.

For the most part, it’s nice revisiting those memories. As for my contest entry, I don’t have any cohesive thesis. My plan is to write and write and write. Eventually, I suspect I’ll find a focus. I guess the middle of nowhere is where I am right now, wandering through my memories, trying to find my way.