I Write How I Cook: Little of This, Little of That

I wanted to make a chicken pot pie. I’d googled a recipe the other day while I was writing my shopping list—making sure I had all the ingredients—but for the life of me I couldn’t find that recipe today. So instead I looked at three other recipes and then decided to do my own thing. It turned out delicious. Here’s the recipe.

Easy-Peasy Chicken Pot Pie

1 bag of frozen chicken breast strips—Grilled and Ready® by Tyson worked great!
1 bag of frozen peas and carrots
1 can of chicken broth
1 cup of heavy cream
2 Tsp corn starch
Pillsbury pie crust

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray a 9×13 pan with cooking spray. Mix the chicken breasts, peas, and chicken broth in a large pot and bring to a simmer, cooking until the pre-cooked chicken is thawed. Add the cream. Mix the corn starch with some water to make a thin paste. Stir in the corn starch and simmer until it’s thick and bubbly. Add pepper to taste.

Pour chicken mixture into 9×13 inch pan. Lay the two pie crusts on top, shaping them to fit the pan. Cut small slits to release steam. Bake for 15 minutes or until crust is gold brown.

How easy is that?

So what does this have to do with my books?

1. I start with a plan. I know what kind of book I want to write, just like I knew I wanted chicken pot pie.

2. I choose my ingredients. These ingredients are character, setting, plot, theme, voice. I gather them up and lay them out, ready to mix them together.

3. I research my options. How many point-of-view characters should there be? Long chapters or short? Should I include letters? Should I have flashbacks? What feels right for this story?

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