Writing is Like Making Tortillas, Maria Ramirez

Writing to me is like making tortillas for the first time. You must have the right ingredients and utensils:

Ingredients Needed:

Writing Tortillas

Craving Four

Hunger Salt

Desire Baking Powder

Persistence Shortening

Momentum Hot Water

Pride

Heat

Imagination

Dreams

Utensils:

Pencil or Pen Rolling Pen

Paper Board or Flat Surface

Word Processor Mixing Bowl

To write you need to have a desire, a craving: the desire to roll out your tortillas and a craving strong enough to make your own, no, not store bought…homemade. You need to take your word processor, your pen or pencil, and with the rolling pen, roll out your stories. At first it is not so easy; you will need to take the heat, just like putting your hands in that hot water to mix your ingredients or grab the tortilla off the griddle. Use your dreams and imagination. Knead yourmasa, your stories with the right amount of power (baking powder); your tortillas will puff up like clouds with great pride. Your stories will be so delicious they will be award winners. You must not worry about putting too much of one ingredient or not enough of another. If you feel unlucky because you put too much salt, take heart, another tortilla will come along. If your story is not long enough and you feel there is not enough shortening, your manuscript will thicken once you let your masa sit. When this happens, it is time to let the ideas rise in your mind. Award winning pieces of work take time. Don’t worry if your pride is hurt, beginners don’t always make the best tortillas, as a matter of fact, some are so bad, birds won’t touch them, even when moistened by the rain.

Don’t let the heat of a deadline, rejection discourage you. Be persistent, don’t give up, soon you will pick up your writing momentum once again and it will be like eating a fresh, homemade tortilla right off the griddle smothered in golden butter. The taste will not only melt in your mouth, but also in your heart.