Thursday, April 01, 2010

Food Issues

My husband is not on a diet. He is dealing with food issues sensibly by following a plan set up by a nutritionist. This involves weighing and measuring ridiculously small amounts of food for a full-size man.

On the plus, or maybe I should say minus, side, I’m eating less myself. While I’m not measuring and tracking units of protein vs. carbs, this program discourages fixing fancy combinations of food. They’re too hard to measure. And plain food tends to be less tempting (except for ice cream).

I have food issues in my books, too.

In real life, people socialize over food. Heroes and heroines, too, go out to dinner, cook together, celebrate holidays (such as Thanksgiving), take lunch breaks from work, etc. It’s all too easy as a writer to have them constantly fussing about with coffee cups, bites of omelet, or whatever, during their conversations.

Usually by chapter five or so, my ongoing outline gets studded with reminders to AVOID FOOD.

You’d be surprised how difficult this is. Almost as hard as avoiding food in real life.

I doubt Congress worries about this. Please don’t tell them. They might start fining authors of characters who overeat.

Or – worst case scenario – take away my ice cream.

2 comments:

karma1086 said...

I don't understand why people have so many issues with food. We need food to survive, so why make a big deal of what we eat? People should listen to their body and eat what it wants, but not overdue it. Through my life I had different size and trust me I felt worst, when I was very fin and couldn't gain any weight. Sure I was very sick, but when I got better I never deprived myself from any food. It's not healthy to diet all the time. I would like the romance writer write about people, who not obsessed with weight, food, or looks. People should enjoy their life, even in fiction.
By the way I like Harlequin American romance very much. Thanks for good books and interesting stories.

linda s said...

Most of the talking in our house goes on around the kitchen table that always has drinks of some kind and usually something edible on it. So I think talking and drinking something is a normal activity even in books.