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Thursday, June 18, 2009

Passion in Writing by Jillayne Clements

I never thought the day would come where I’d have to give up gluten and sugar, but it did. Did I feel sorry for myself? Yes, especially at first. I mean, how could I live without wheat?It’s in practically everything. And sugar was like my best friend.

But this experience was a great learning opportunity for me. I discovered a way to prepare wheat that actually digests gluten so I could tolerate it. Then I learned about natural sugars that were nourishing to the body and more gentle on blood sugars. I decided to just have fun with this new information. I became passionate about creating recipes and sharing with people what I had learned about grains, natural sugars, and whole foods in general and their impact on health. I had to express it somehow. Before I knew it, I was co-authoring a cookbook using whole foods, gluten-digested (sprouted) grains, and natural sugars. (We just received the good word that Cedar Fort will publish this cookbook!)

What does all this have to do with writing? Lots of us feel passionate about something in our lives. Writing, parenting, health, economics, creating, etc. Write down your passions, and bring it into your writing. Feel passionate about your characters. Feel passionate about your plot and subplots, or feel passionate about your topic. A lot of good books were sparked by a passion for something. At the very least it is therapeutic and creates a stronger voice, and at the most, you may end up touching and enriching the lives of others.

6 comments:

Rebecca Talley said...

I agree, we need to be passionate.

I'll be interested to see your cookbook. I've been trying to get away from white flour and white sugar and use more whole foods.

Jillayne Clements said...

Thanks, Rebecca,

I'm grateful for your interest in my cookbook. I think a lot of people today are looking for a more satisfying, nourishing diet. =)

Marilyn said...

Add my name to your list of interested people in your book. Do you have celiac? My mom has it and I have had digestive issues for years and I'm wondering if gluten isn't the culprit.

Rachel Harlin said...

My sister's husband and son can't have glueten. It's always interesting to me that so many things have it! And what a great annalogy with writing! It's so true, too. If you aren't passionate about what you write, no one else will feel passionate about reading it! Thanks for the reminder!

Jillayne Clements said...

Thank you for your comments. I don't have celiac, just gluten intolerance. However, because of preparing my grains this way and doing some other "natural" things, I am happy to say that I'm healing from gluten intolerance.

Cindy Beck, author said...

Your cookbook sounds interesting ... and I agree, to write a good book requires passion.