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Albatross Sandwich
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John Caruso
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Jun 07, 2004 13:27 PDT
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Albatross Sandwich
“A man walks into a restaurant, orders an albatross sandwich, takes a
bite, and smiles. Why?”
This simple paragraph lead to an entire evening of conversation,
intellectual stimulation, and creative exploration. Several years ago I
spent some time in the company of an absolutely charming couple with
whom I was working on a project. At the outset of the weekend, we didn’t
know each other very well. After spending an intense morning and
afternoon together, we realized we were in synch—sharing ideals,
outlooks, and a sense of humor—even if we came from different
backgrounds and generations. Sometime after our 3:00 coffee, Barbara sat
back, eyed me over her steaming coffee mug, and said, “A man walks into
a restaurant, orders an albatross sandwich, takes a bite, and smiles.
Why?”
I, like you right now, was confused and wondered what that had to do
with our project (or, in your case, with the Daily Grind). “It has
everything to do with it,” she said. “Sometimes we can only see the end
point and have to work through things, ass backwards, to find the
beginning.” Again she posed the scenario to me. I learned that I could
only ask “yes” or “no” questions and that the object was to discover the
why behind the “why.”
Over the course of the evening I would ask questions, sometimes several
at a time, other times just one or two over a cocktail or salad or
dessert. By the time we returned to their home for coffee, I was closing
in. After coffee, I still needed a few night caps to get me to the final
(or, more accurately, the initial) answer. It was a fascinating
exercise, one which I am thrilled to have participated in. I learned
about stretching my thoughts, about looking at problems from several
angles. I learned that chipping away at a problem will help you get to
the solution, that progress doesn’t always have to happen in thunderbolt
moments (sure they occur and they help, but the yeoman’s work is done in
small increments). I may have gotten lucky with the “perfect” question
once and a while, but the rest of the time I made inchworm-like progress
(but progress none-the-less).
And that is how we have to approach our writing. Complete, polished
stories are not handed to us from out of the ether. Perfect words,
sentences, even paragraphs may come from a shock of inspiration, but
more often they come to us bobbing upon a pool of sweat. We write one
word after another until we have a sentence. We write one sentence after
another until we have a paragraph. We ask one question after another
until we find out why the heck that guy smiled.
When I finally figured out what that sandwich and smile meant, I was
satisfied, relieved, even proud. I enjoyed the journey. I enjoyed
discovering the turns and twists of the story. But I also felt a little
sad, as if I didn’t want to let go of the plot and characters I unfolded
along the way. Hmmm, now doesn’t that sound familiar to us writers?
So this fortnight start with an ending and try to work it backwards.
Keep asking yourself, “why?” Work ass backwards until you find your
beginning. Revel in the journey. Enjoy the characters you will
necessarily meet along the way. Take a bite or two of an albatross
sandwich and smile.
(And, yes, I AM aware that I haven’t told you why he smiled. <wink>
You’re writers, you’re creative. If I had to work it out, so can
you....)
John Caruso
joh-@coffeehouseforwriters.com
Copyright 2004, John Caruso
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