allume

real light living

On Pancakes And Perseverance

By

pancake_Allume

For years I couldn’t make a decent pancake. I could grill picture perfect steaks and bake bread that could amaze, but pancakes were impossible.

It’s been nearly 14 years since I first tried to make a pancake, and I can’t believe I am saying this, but it’s only been in the last 3 years that I have at last conquered pancake making with both consistency and near perfection.

The other night, I stood flipping my practically perfect pancakes, considering how a couple of years ago, I  had found the whole process so frustrating that I wanted to quit trying.

One day, probably at the request of one of my children, I got out the pan and tried again. I hovered anxious the whole time. I watched each bubble form on the upside of every pancake. I read and re-read the directions, while muttering prayers to  finally get this right.

And then, as if I’d been doing it my whole life, they turned out perfectly.

This is both a small miracle and also?–the fruit of perseverance.

I’ve thought about that moment repeatedly, trying to figure out why it took me so long to get such a simple meal right. Afterall, in the last 14 years I’ve prepared and cooked much more challenging dishes, so why was this one so relentlessly hard for me?

Here’s what learned:

Pancakes are a somewhat delicate food. Too long in the pan (by a mere matter of seconds) and they turn too dark and tough. Not enough time in the pan and they are gooey and raw inside, which is plain nasty.

For me, I needed to find the balance. I started with my cooking temperature. I discovered that for the particular pan I like for cooking pancakes, there is only one very specific setting the burner can be on. One notch higher, and the pancakes are impossible, every time. Once I figured this out, the pancakes were at least fully cooked (score!).

After fine-tuning my cooking temp, I discovered that while my pancakes were thoroughly cooked, they were too thick and not “floppy” enough. This I recognized was not a heat issue, but a batter problem. For years I hadn’t been stirring the batter enough. Because my cookbook cautions over mixing, I erred on the side of super-lumpy-barely-mixed. Again, crappy pancakes.

It turned out that my batter needed a more vigorous blending, and actually requires (sometimes) a splash or two more milk than the recipe calls for.

That’s it. Perfect pancakes. Every time.

And it only took 10 years of practice.

As I reflected on all of this, I saw the parallel to my writing journey. Even the very best writers “burned a few pancakes” when they first started writing. Writing is a gift, but also a skill to be honed and tweaked over time.

All serious writers learn the necessity and value of perseverance. <–tweet this

It takes practice and evaluation of our work to make it better. When something isn’t working, we go back to the beginning and look at where we went wrong. Maybe the words need to rest longer on the page before being served up. Maybe we’ve gone overboard on the salt and we need to add a bit more sugar. Maybe it works with oil, but tastes better when you use applesauce instead.

The thing about writing is, that while there is a basic formula for good story telling, there is always room to tweak the technique. Sometimes, more than anything, we just need a lot of practice–maybe even more than we think. On the surface, writing seems easy enough. But when you read writing that seems easy, you’re reading the work of a gifted, practiced writer. That’s what good writers do–make it seem easy. 

So get back to the desk. Sit down and start again. Read the words of those who have done this before. Tweak your methods. Believe that eventually, your perseverance will pay off. And pray–ask God to equip you for the task He’s called you to.

For some great books on writing check out a few of my favorites, Stephen King’s On Writing, Ann Lamott’s Bird By Bird, Luci Shaw’s Breath For The Bones, and Madeline L’engle’s Walking on Water. These are just a few brilliant writers who make it look easy, but in reality persevered through many a burned pancake.

So tell me, how are you at making pancakes? 

Comments

  1. Kris, this message is beautiful and practical and oh – do I ever get the burned pancakes analogy! Seriously. Practice and perseverance are skills that I know I need to hone. Much like a butterfly in it’s cocooning phase, a piece is often being transformed in the “waiting”. As our my thoughts on it and the words I have for it. I loved this Kris. And, Bird by Bird was awesome, but I hadn’t heard of Breath for the Bones. Thank you for including some recommendations at the end, too!

    • I think you will like Breath For The Bones, I am thumbing through it again these days 😉 Thanks for encouraging me, sweet friend. Your kindness does not go unnoticed. I am deeply grateful for you.

  2. Oh my friend…I have learned so much from you about the art of writing. Once again, you have shared wise counsel with these words. I am working on my “pancakes” and I think (hope) they are getting better.

    • Mary, I have no doubt that your words are stronger than they were even a few months ago. God is stretching you, and your growth shines through. Keep it up! ((hugs))

  3. I had the same struggle with pancakes, and love how you tied it to writing….as I am in a stage of practicing A LOT and finding my voice.

    • Good for you, Sarah. Keep going. Don’t get too discouraged in the struggle. I know that place, and I know how lonely it can feel. Praying for you as you continue to write and wrestle.

    • Heh heh. Gretchen, 2 years ago, when I went to Relevant (now Allume) my husband made pancakes for the kids, and my kids couldn’t stop talking about how amazing daddy’s pancakes were. Would you believe that is what got me back to practicing my attempts at them? I think underneath, I am a little more competitive than I care to admit. We laugh about it, my husband and I. My family has endured years of terrible pancakes by my hands.

      • My husband doesn’t just make pancakes…he makes “Shape Pancakes”, in the form of tractors, snowmen, whatever my children want to eat. He’s definitely a pancake artist. 🙂

  5. I’m hungry for pancakes thanks to you. Love the analogy and its so true. Sometimes you just have to write from where you are. And I think we can all look back on our previous pieces of writing and cringe a bit. Which is good. It means we’ve grown. Hopefully, we’ll say that again next year about what we wrote today too.

    • I hope you’re right Shelly. I hope I can look back and see marked improvement. This is good soul work for me, the Lord uses all of these things, and all of this writing to continue to refine not just my words, but my heart as well. More than anything, I pray my heart has changed in time, through a continued obedience.

  7. I finally had to have my mother come over and show me how she makes pancakes — I had her recipe, but just wasn’t able to do it. She showed me what temperature, and what thickness… and now I can make near-perfect pancakes (crepes, really). I used to get them too thick… now they’re thin enough to be fragile. 😉

  8. Thank you so much for these words. A call to persevere (and the humility to make burnt pancakes) was exactly what I needed. I’ve only been blogging for a year, but already I find myself thinking, “oh, what’s the point?” or “I’m not really that good at this anyway.” It’s a simple but powerful strategy–just one step after the next after the next…

    As long as my words come out of who God has created me to be/to give, it is worth the time and effort.

    • I am so glad you are encouraged–don’t give up! I know it’s hard but if you are serving the Lord, and doing what He has called you to, He will bless the work. ((hugs))

  9. Love this and love you. How I long for some of your home made BREAD. You feed the soul.

  12. Practice, practice, indeed. I must admit to being irritated by the amount of practice some things take, but always, always, the practice improves my abilities. Thanks for the suggestions for the additional writing books. I am working my way through Bird by Bird again.

    I’ll share an innkeeper’s secret for pancakes from my years helping to run a B&B: There is a mix by a company names Krusty’s. I know—bad name, right? You just add water. The grocery stores have it in boxes, and Sam’s Club carries it in large bags. If you have a large group, especially bottomless pit teenagers, this mix is so handy. The flavor and texture are great, and it is so convenient with water as the only ingredient.

  13. This is beautiful! My mother taught me how to make pancakes. Although not perfect, they turn out pretty good these days. Perseverance is not always easy. I have to keep my eye on Jesus and know that with His strength, I can accomplish anything. Blessings!

  14. Your words actually spoke to me this morning about persevering through relationships and how they are “delicate” — practice comes in the daily togetherness, the persevering. Thinking on this.

Categories

Archives

Google+