My Secret Recipe to Creating a Great Book

April 08, 2019

The Secret Recipe to Creating a Great Book

Cooking and writing have much in common—more than you might think. Take a moment to think back to some special place you went for dinner. Better yet, think of all those meals your mom prepared for your dinner. At some point ahead of time, be it an hour or even days earlier, she had to make a decision on what she would fix, how much, and how many people would be there to eat. Would it be the immediate family, or would there be a friend or two? Or maybe even some relatives from out-of-town.

Her decision would first focus on her audience (who she would be feeding), what they would like, the cost of buying the main course and the side dishes to go with it, what her preparation time would be, and did she really want to do it or not? Was she ready to commit? Once her decisions were made, off she would go to the store to make her purchases, get home and schedule what went on the stove or in the oven, prepare her pots and pans, prep the meats and/or vegetables, and last but not least she would make dinner. Finally, it would happen. Dinner was on the table.

Whether you are a cook or a writer, the pattern is similar

Do I really want to do this? What is my storyline? Who are my cast of characters? Who is my audience? Am I committed to the research and interviews necessary to compile enough raw materials to make a book? If I respond in the positive to each question, I am ready to delve into the work of writing.

Just as mom enjoyed the pleasure of watching us scarf up the meal she worked so hard to make, so too does the author enjoy the pleasure of people picking up his or her book and reading it.

Which brings me to the point—what about me? What about my writing?

First and foremost, I believe I must only write about topics in which I have in-depth knowledge and experience. Even though my professional career was wide-ranging, I still commit to extensive research—what are the trends, the bogus science, the substantiated versus the unsubstantiated principles, and what is of interest to my readers.

Another level of the “first and foremost” is to know my readers—men and women who read at the 10th-grade level or higher. Important note – So far in this blog, it’s written at the 10th grade level of reading. Newspapers tend toward the 8th-grade level.

My second point is to research the topic—Google beats those long, tedious trips to the library. However, this has not been without a dark side. My computer security system provides feedback as to who is nosing into my work—Russia, Saudi Arabia, U.A.E., Yemen, China, and some “private” sources in the Washington D.C, area. That in itself can sometimes give pause to the story development.

Included in the research protocols is to maintain a strong, professional reading of up-to-date journals and publications. I add to this by maintaining a core of professionals in my genre with whom I can present ideas, situations, plots, and characters. If they buy-off on it, then I am ‘On Go,” for the story

My next gamut is to add the “spice to the stew,” by actually putting boots on the ground. This calls for traveling to those many places throughout the world where my stories take place—talk to the people, eat the food, drink in the bars and cafes, and in general, get the feel to the culture in which the story will occur. The challenge then calls for the manuscript to reflect that culture as closely as possible.

Along the banks of the Danube River researching for The Spy Among Us

Finally, to round-out my efforts, I read a variety of authors whose writing skills, plot complexity, and characters offer me mentorship in the art of writing. Learn from the masters is a worthy goal.

Like mom putting dinner on the table to see it eaten by a starving family, so too do I aim for my books to be drawn in by my readers.
But there is more. Stay tuned.

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