Sourdough Bread and Writing

I've mentioned here before how much I like making homemade bread. I've always wanted to try and make sourdough bread, but have always been put off by how long the process is. The shortest recipe time I've found is letting the sourdough starter sit a minimum of 12 hours before actually making the bread.

One day last week, I mentioned to a friend how much I want to try making this type of bread, but it seems like such a long process just to make a couple of loaves of bread. My friend gave me a strange look and said, "but you don't think anything about the fact that it takes you months to write a book."

Suddenly the proverbial light bulb went off over my head. She's right. I don't think twice about spending so much time thinking about plots, dialogues, characterization before I even start the actual process of writing. I started seeing the parallels between waiting those 12 hours for the sourdough starter and my pre-writing process.

Letting the starter sit so the yeast and other ingredients can ferment is a great deal like my need to do character sketches, try out various plot lines, make sure my hero and heroine both have believable goals and motivation before I start writing. Letting the starter sit the required hours gives the bread the foundation it needs to rise and bake properly much like my pre-writing ensures my completed novel will have a sturdy structure as its base.

I think I'll be making sourdough bread this weekend. :o)