Style and The Key to A Really Fluffy Smoothie

Half and Half. Put some half and half milk or even full on heavy cream in the blender with all the rest of the goodies. It whips up nice and frothy. I am sipping one right now. Blueberries and bananas, doncha know.

Often, I am looking for the just the right key to make something work. I'll hunt and search all over. Try to track the right source down. See if there is any new information, or look for images as a guide. I like to know things and find how to's and just curious I guess. Cenobite. I am reading a new book that has the word cenobite in it. Did I stop and look that up? Oh yes. I got an image and a definition. Who uses cenobite on a daily basis? Very educated English men and women apparently. There's another, casuistry. As in police casuistry. Huh? It was late. Haven't looked it up yet. A cenobite is a monk by the way. Hm. Now I know the author thinks her readers are very intelligent.

Well, as I am apparently writing a book. Huh? Yes, I guess I am. I immediately tried to ignore the big leaping fluttering butterflies and actual tigers probably growling in my stomach, I set about looking up a few things. Like, oh, hm, how to do it. I am thinking there is a key somewhere, a how to, someone has written something on the subject. Why yes, yes they have. Like a gazillion and one people have written books on writing books. Great. Reminded me of all those people making money online telling others how to make money online.

Luckily I had ordered the new illustrated Strunk and White a few days ago which was delivered on Friday. I love Maira Kalman's work.( What? Of course I got the illustrated version.) And E.B. White isn't bad either. But I am going to hand it to Professor Strunk, who saved my sometimes punctuation and grammatically challenged butt a few times in school on the stickier issues. Here he has the key. It's in the chapter called the Elementary Principles of Composition. He says, choose a suitable design and hold to it. (#12) And then, here is the real brilliance: Make the paragraph the unit of composition (#13).

That stopped me right there. Light bulb over the head moment. Sometimes the key is very simple. Just like my key to a fluffier smoothie. Sometimes things are right in front of you and you just have to do them. Like write one really good paragraph at a time. And hm, I have been writing daily now for over a year. So maybe I do have the discipline to sit down and do it. Maybe, it IS like Hemingway said. Write one true thing, and then another. I think he's right. Now, hm, that part about editors and agents and getting paid, that is going to require some more looking. After I look up casuistry, I am on it. I am less concerned with getting something published as I am with writing something worth publishing and painting the kick ass paintings to go with it.

So I guess you know what is coming next. Yes. It is Organizing Monday. I am thinking what 3 things will get me closer to my goals. One of them involves seashells, another back to Amazon I go and the third? The third will involve a list, an outline of a show , a book, a marketing plan. The work will be hard and there will be lots of it. But I think, just those MIT's, 3 at a time and my map, maybe that will get me there... And smoothies, lots of smoothies. Is there something good you're after? Chunk it down. Make it simple. Then do it.