I wrote just to get thoughts out then segued into writing about Ryal, the main character. I read a chapter in Natalie Goldberg's book, Writing Down the Bones, then found myself writing her suggestions as to what she could have done better with this particular chapter. This exercise allowed me to enter another perspective (that of a professional writer) and another voice. I enjoyed this exercise because of the final product as well as the process. I did not read the book thinking, I'll write this better. But reading the chapter, I was disappointed, because it did not meet my expectations.
The particular chapter, entitled "Fighting Tofu," talked about the futility in fighting with tofu because its "dense, bland, white. It is fruitless to wrestle with it; you get nowhere." She was talking about fighting oneself in striving to tap into motivation to write. Write, she says, and use some tricks on yourself when you need to. I thought about the title, and I needed more from this chapter. So I wrote the following:
Ugh. Disgusting. I do not like it with foxes or goats, or green or any other color. Why subject myself to culinary cruelty by putting tongue to tofu? Especially when I can just eat real food.
Tofu, by nature, is bland, a bit tasteless, and has a... let's say, unique texture, which does not necessarily appeal to those being introduced. "Tofu, meet disgruntled diner. Hesitant diner mm.... Man. Gone again. Where did he go this time?"
What I find applicable, intriguing, and delicious is that tofu has whatever flavor you put into it. It can be delectably blackened with spices, or it could be marinated in soy sauce to add an oriental tang. It could also taste of the disappointment and disgust, the expectations you have for it. That flavor has a way of ruining all your experiences. You could go into a meal fighting tofu (and you'll be proved correct) or you could choose to take the time to marinate or spice it up with a different technique.
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