Tuesday, February 2, 2021

Below the Surface

 

This morning, while steaming milk for coffee, I removed the sort of skin that formed on the surface before using a whipper to make a homemade variation of latte. The moment I did that, the memory of an old relative, long gone, popped into my mind.


I noted an oddity about myself that had been there for years, but I never filed before. I steam milk every morning, and remove this layer, Lactoderm, from its top every time. The memory of this relative comes before me every time I do this, but rarely at other times.


For the first time, I’m not only noting this, but also wondering why it is so. There is no connection between the surface of steamed milk and this person. Or is there? If there is, my conscious mind can’t access it.


In the midst of revising on my next novel, it occurs to me that such little details pointing to subconscious patterns are essential to writing rich characters. In fiction, we have to make these patterns rise to the surface. The reader will be unsatisfied if we just note them and leave them there without explanation.  


I may have to use my storytelling imagination to build the tiny bridge real life doesn’t.


Fiction is so much tidier than life. In fact, the act of writing is itself an effort to tie up loose ends.

8 comments:

MirkaK said...

Sounds like you had a Proustian madeleine moment. So think about the person the milk skin flashes you back to. Surely there’s some narrative thread there to explore.

Vijaya said...

I love this, Mirka. I think the subconscious is wonderful for making all sorts of connections. And these kinds of quirks and details is exactly what makes a character come alive. Now, if you have unpasteurized, unhomogenized whole milk, when you boil it and let it cool, a thick layer of cream forms on top and it is the BEST. Yum.

Evelyn said...

I enjoyed your post. Yes, our minds have a way of making those connections. Sometimes they are connections and thoughts I'd really rather forget, but my mind seems to insist that I keep dwelling on them over and over and over again. Ugh.

Kelly Hashway said...

Your last line is so poetically true! I love it.

Sherry Ellis said...

That's a really astute analogy. Guess I won't be looking at steamed milk the same way ever again.

Have a great week!

Nas said...

Our subconscious and imagination are two very powerful things for our creativity.

Johnell said...

Ooh, very cool. And interesting. I'm going to have to pay attention to those things now. Thank you.

Tina Cho said...

Mysterious!