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Books: Food:
The
Writer's Life A WRITER'S GUIDE TO FICTION: A concise, practical guide for novelists and short-story writers by Elizabeth Lyon. A Perigee Book, Penguin Group, 2004. Paperback, $13.95.
Elizabeth Lyon has lived in Eugene since 1986, and she describes living a writer's life here as "a long, hard journey." Her multi-faceted writing and editing career began when she started a business called Custom Letters in Corvallis in 1984-85. "I just hung out a shingle," she said, offering to write letters, including love letters, as well as standard resumes, press releases, business letters and advertisements. In what Lyon said was a "combination of timing and dumb luck," the press kit — her first ever — was received by the media in January, when reporters were seeking an original Valentine story for February. KVAL-TV came to rural Corvallis to interview her, and the Gazette Times in Corvallis ran a photo feature. "Within two weeks, I had a 20-hour-a-week business," Lyon said. It was a modest beginning for Lyon's entrepreneurial businesses, which now include a successful editing partnership, Editing International LLC, and her own company, titled Elizabeth Lyon Unlimited, for her non-editing work. Besides teaching non-credit writing courses at LCC and workshops at conferences, retreats and seminars, Lyon has also found time over the years for her own writing. Her published books include A Writers' Guide to Nonfiction, Nonfiction Book Proposals Anybody Can Write, The Sell Your Novel Tool Kit, and her latest book, A Writer's Guide to Fiction. I noticed that form and function are well wedded in Lyon's new book. The organization of chapters is lucid, beginning with an overview and the first fleshing out of characters, story ("the deepest meaning of a tale"), plot (the specific characters and events that fulfill the story), and mapping (overall structure: situation, complication, resolution). "I see myself as a structuralist," Lyon said. "I teach people how to create the skeleton. Once you've mastered structure, then you can forget it," she said. The techniques of fiction writing can be applied to literary nonfiction, including memoir, she said. Later chapters revisit the topics but go deeper into the art of fiction writing, including characterization, which Lyon calls "the source of a writer's greatest magic.' The final chapters include trouble-shooting, learning to market and refining your vision. The small text boxes that summarize complex ideas in all the chapters are helpful, such as: "Flashbacks too early annoy readers; flashbacks later on can fill in missing information and supply character depth." And: "The fewer main characters you use, the more control you retain." Also: "Omniscient point of view rarely works, except in the hands of a masterful writer." Another helpful structure is Lyon's use of short passages or opening sentences from successful novels to illustrate, for example, narrative leads that hook the reader. Simply realizing the variety of ways to start your project may help you think about what you're writing in a different way. Although I am writing nonfiction, I found many of the ideas here relevant and genuinely useful. However, I had to skip over the section in "Deepening Your Characters" chapter on the use of assigning archetypes to fictional characters. Archetypes are by definition non-human; they represent powerful, self-governing characteristics of the unconscious, which, as far as I know, cannot be harnessed for any project one might have in mind. Lyon is a warm, personable woman, and it is easy to imagine she would be a pleasure to work with. In addition to her professional editing work, Lyon is invited to speak at many conferences and to present workshops. Several years ago I interviewed a writer who had taken a workshop from Lyon and bought one of her books. This writer sold her first book (nonfiction) on the basis of her query letter. An impressive number of Editing International's clients have published nonfiction and fiction books and film proposals. They are listed on "Your passport to publishing," a brochure about the service (www.4-edit.com).
BOOK NOTES (July 29 - August 26): Congratulations to Diana Abu-Jaber (Crescent) and Floyd Skloot (In the Shadow of Memory) for winning Pen Center USA's 2004 Literary Arts awards for fiction and creative nonfiction, respectively. …Kudos to Elmira's Dean Van Leuven (Life Without Anger: Your Guide to Peaceful Living) for being first runner up best book of the year in the self-help category at the International New Age Trade Show. …Summer 04 Etude, an online magazine from the UO Literary Nonfiction Program, includes an interview with Barbara Ehrenreich at http://etude.uoregon.edu.…Soft Skull Press presents David Ohle (The Age of Sinatra) at 5 pm on Aug. 6 at Tsunami Books. …The 35th annual Willamette Writers Conference takes place at the Embassy Suites Portland Airport Hotel August 6-8. (www.willamettewriter.comor 503- 452-1592). …Lane Literary Guild's annual potluck will be held from 4-7 pm on Aug. 7 at the Quonset hut at Mt. Pisgah. Bring food, non-alcoholic drink and something to read at open mic. … Nearly 30 Oregon authors will appear at the Lane County Fair, August 17-22, including Bob Welch (American Nightingale), Carola Dunn (The Case of the Murdered Muckraker), Leigh Anne Jasheway (Laugh Lines) and Joe Blakely (The Tall Firs). …Joe Meno (Hairstyles of the Damned) will read at 7 pm on Aug. 18 in Barnes and Noble. …Maura Conlon-McIvor (FBI Girl: How I Learned to Crack My Father's Code) reads on Sept. 9 at Tsunami Books. Call for time.
Cookbook
as Catalyst
Some of you may be familiar with the 1976 Mennonite More-with-Less Cookbook by Doris Janzen Longacre. This plain and unfussy book, the first in the Mennonite Central Committee's World Community Cookbooks series, is sort of the ultimate spiral-bound church cookbook, a collection of recipes from around the world compiled by Longacre and MCC. Interspersed between recipes for casseroles and quick breads, however, are philosophical tidbits and tips on progressive food choices to make the world a better place: eating animal proteins more sparingly; avoiding over-processed foods and pre-mixed products; making your own bulk pancake, cocoa mixes, granola, etc. The philosophy behind the series is best summed up by a quote from the More-with-Less Cookbook: "We are what we eat. And what we eat shows our theology. … It speaks not only to our physical bodies but to our souls. It is soul food. And we need it more than ever." For some readers, More with Less has proven itself as more than a cookbook, and even more than just a catalyst for lifestyle changes — it has been a tool for survival: A Spotlight Review for More with Less at amazon.com is titled, "A book that helped us live through poverty." In this tradition of cookbooks that have an impact on people's lives and life philosophies, MCC and authors Mary Beth Lind and Cathleen Hockman-Wert are planning Simply in Season as the third publication in the World Community Cookbooks series. Lind, of rural West Virginia, is a nutritionist and author of Recipes from the Old Mill: Baking with Whole Grains. She co-authors the book with Corvallis writer and editor Hockman-Wert, who says of the Simply in Season project, "The emphasis on food is new for me, born out of a passion for good food and a belief that a cookbook can be a wonderful educational tool." She explains that through stories and simple "whole foods" recipes, those that feature local, seasonal produce, Simply in Season, scheduled for release July 2005, will explore how the food we put on our tables impacts our local and global neighbors as well as the environment. "It will show how our daily food choices can help bring security and health to our communities, the land, body and spirit," says Hockman-Wert. She describes the philosophy and motivation for Simply in Season by saying, "We live in a society where people have much more than we need yet so many are not happy. There is enormous hunger for meaning in life. Yet ordinary daily activities — such as eating — can be infused with meaning when done mindfully, in ways that show care for the earth and for other people." She says this philosophy is important to her because "the violence of the world — the harm people are doing to the planet and to each other — can be overwhelming, tempting me to think there's nothing I can do that will make a difference. But my choices, our choices, do matter. And eating local, seasonal foods, well, that's so easy … It feels good to shop at a farmers' market, to know where those eggs, that lettuce came from, to take a whole pepper and chop it up and share it with family and friends, remembering with gratitude the farmer who harvested it as well as God who made it grow." Hockman-Wert believes this book could be of particular interest to residents of the Willamette Valley because "the enthusiastic support of local farmers' markets and CSAs shows that many Oregonians have discovered the joys of eating local foods. Simply in Season will offer the broader picture of why it's important to support local farmers." Lind and Hockman-Wert are still collecting and testing recipes. They would love to see Oregonians participate in either capacity. For information on how to get involved, visit www.morewithless.org Contributed by Bernita Boyts of Shawnee, Kansas, for Simply in Seasonn…
Salmon in a Skillet
Rinse salmon filet in cool water; pat dry. Heat oil in a large skillet until hot (if using olive oil, be sure not to reach the smoking point). Salt and pepper the filet and place in skillet, skin side up. Cook over medium heat until browned (7 to10 minutes); turn and cook other side another 3 to 5 minutes, allowing longer time for a thick filet. Place on a platter and cover. (Don't overcook in skillet; it will finish on the platter.) Melt butter in skillet and add garlic. Stir and cook about 30 seconds. Add wine or water and heat until bubbling, scraping browned bits into the liquid. Add capers, onions and dill. Cook another minute. Add chopped tomato. Pour lemon juice over salmon, top with sauce and serve. Leftovers are wonderful served cold on top of green salad. |
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