Between Flour and Words: How Writing is Kneaded in the Kitchen, Where Ideas Mix with Ingredients and Creativity Bakes on Every Page.
By Lidia Roselló
HoyLunes – I was kneading a chocolate-and-walnut cake, in case you’re wondering, when the idea I had been searching for all week finally arrived. Flour on my eyelashes, sticky hands, and the radio blasting the latest from Rózalen.
Amid dough remnants and distraction, a key chapter of my novel “Thief of Oranges” was born. It was one of those moments when everything clicks, when the story finally flows as you had been waiting for.
A few years ago, with a mind full of cinematic images, I thought that writers’ “muses” appeared in beautiful, idyllic places, surrounded by interesting people, in silent rooms with sea views. That was until reality arrived in the form of a writers’ retreat, and I understood something crucial: inspiration comes from within; there’s no need to search for it outside. It emanates from yourself. For me, ideas appear after a restorative night of sleep, in a flour-filled kitchen, or during a walk with my little dog Diva.
One thing I’ve learned is that writing requires sitting down with your homework done. Let me explain: writing a novel is much more than waiting for the muse to arrive. There is preparatory work: structuring the story, developing characters—their likes, their quirks, their flaws, and their mannerisms… The magical thing is that, in this process, you discover parts of yourself you didn’t even know existed. Isn’t that fantastic?
Writing a novel is much like cooking. Emotions are fresh ingredients that I combine with memories, doubts, and desires. Sometimes I need to knead slowly, remix everything, and start again because the story demands it. Some chapters come out almost effortlessly, like a freshly baked cake. Others require rest, patience, and a wait that can be frustrating but ultimately rewarding.
Heat is another essential ingredient: not just the heat of emotions, but the warmth of honesty. Writing also means taking risks: telling your own truth, even if your characters later take on lives of their own and sometimes contradict your original plan.
No novel solidifies without putting something deeply personal into every word and every character. Remember, characters have their own lives and can end up doing things you would never dare or censor in real life.
I believe the best stories, like the best recipes, are born from everyday chaos, with flour-stained hands and the certainty that it is always a good time to start.
By the way, my advice is: don’t wait for perfect conditions, because they’ll never come. And you don’t need them. You just need to dare to start, right now, with what’s at hand.
Because together, we are thieves of moments, gatherers of emotions, and writers of the everyday.
#hoylunes, #lidia_roselló,
