Savor the Good Ones

 By Kelly Bridgewater

 Last year for Thanksgiving, I remember spending five hours in the kitchen with my mother helping prepare the meal for all 14 people that came over.

We had to get the turkey in the oven.

Bake pies. We made pumpkin, pecan, chocolate, and peanut butter struesal pie.

Mashed potatoes.

Sweet potatoes.

Homemade rolls that had to rise. Punch. Re-rise. Then separate. Then re-rise before putting them into the oven.

Green beans.

Salad.

Brown Gravy.

Then debone the turkey.

And the dreaded cleaning the dishes as you go.

Just to have the meal eaten in about 30 minutes. Then the whole family rushes away, and I was stuck with the clean-up. After preparing all the food.

By the evening, the boys want to play games, but my back hurts, and I want some quiet time.

This got me thinking about authors.

I want to be a published author.

I have read a good chunk of writing instruction books.

I have studied writers I admire, so I can figure out how to write.

But how long does it take an author to do their research and compose a complete novel?

I have tried to write a number of historical novels, and I love doing the research, but an author could spend days, weeks, or months trapped in a research black hole.

Then you have to spend time crafting the story.

Some authors only write one books a year. It takes them that long to craft a wonderful book. And it shows.

But then it takes me about a day, depending on what is going on to devour the book. Then I either pass the book along, delete it off my Kindle, or place it on my shelf.

All that work for what?

As a budding writer, I have heard that you have to find some other reason to write than the paycheck at the end of the day.

This definitely proves this.

This is why I review. I want others to be able to see the wonders of a good story. I want to tell others about a story that should not just have a couple of days for it to be eaten and then shoved away until “next year.” Like a Thanksgiving dinner.

How about you? Do you share a good book with others? Or do you hurry up and move onto the next one? Trust me. As someone who reviews A LOT, I feel like I do this a lot.

I need to spend more time savoring the good stories too.