As an aspiring novelist, I have been contemplating how to write about appetites and aversions. Writers are human beings. Readers are human beings. Human beings have appetites. They also have aversions to certain things. A writer who is considering writing a novel has to take both into consideration when sketching out vivid characters and creating graphic scenes. Figuring out how to handle the raw side of humanity in my novels is a struggle.
Appetites in Fiction
Appetite, of course, refers to the body’s need for food or sex. Appetites tend to fall along a continuum from moderate to excessive. A character may like chocolate, crave caramel, and be addicted to coffee. Another may have a hankering for a beer, be keen to try homebrew, or have a propensity to be an alcoholic. Others may long for a partner, hunger for a sexual relationship, or be a glutton in the bedroom.
Each of us can probably bring to mind a scene from a novel or from a movie that highlights eating. One I have never forgotten is the famous scene from the film Tom Jones, which has recently been described as “gastro lust” because it portrays the relationship between the characters’ appetites for food and sex. Another I remember is the scene from Babette’s Feast in which her tightlipped guests succumb to the mouthwatering pleasures of her delicious meal. Both scenes, though very different, display an upsetting of tightly defined societal norms of behavior.
Food as an Object of Desire
Food can be used in a novel to mark social status, income level, ethnicity, generational interests, personalities, and psychological issues. Social status markers could include the types of restaurants or hotels your characters select or avoid. If you were writing about a poor family and a rich family, you could highlight the differences in their existence through scenes that featured what they have to offer when guests come to visit. Ethnic differences might include a focus on applicable holidays, such as Thanksgiving, Juneteenth, Cinco de Mayo, or Bastille Day. Generational differences in food would need to be highlighted in a family saga prior to and after the invention of the microwave.
An author could use aspects of food to describe a character’s personality and physique. A male hero may eat 6000 calories a day, have a body like Superman, and expect his wife to put three hot meals on the table a day. A novel about a ballerina might mention that her 1000 calorie diet a day consists mainly of protein drink, cucumbers, and lemon water. Ethnic differences might apply to what characters eat when they are in their own setting as opposed to what they may or may not eat in another setting in the story. Regarding psychological issues, a character might have a fear of eating such as anorexia or be an overweight gourmand.
Food for Comedic Focus
Food scenes in novels can also be used for comedic relief. The Thanksgiving scene in Avalon— You cut the turkey without me!—is still clear in my mind after many years. The scene is unforgettable because it melds the significance of food as it relates to ethnicity, social status, income level, generational interests, personalities, and psychological issues, creating complex internal echoes in the viewer’s mind.
For pure raw comedy, food fights are common in cartoons, movies for children, and bad boy films, as dozens of examples illustrate. Why are food and eating so often the object of humorous portrayal? Perhaps because we were all told as children to sit up straight, hold our forks and knives correctly, eat with our mouths closed, and not to steal bites from our sibling’s plate. We all know what it is like to be hungry or to be too full. We all know the rules that exist and thus the rules that can be subverted to make the audience laugh.
Aversions in Fiction
Rather than wanting something, a character’s personality may be based on an aversion. Once I met a psychology professor who studied disgust. She said it was inexpensive research because all she needed was a research subject who had a nose. Apparently, we wrinkle our noses when something disgusts us. Like appetites, aversions fall along a continuum from mild to extreme. A character may dislike vanilla, hate peanut butter, and be completely repulsed by raw oysters. Or if you are writing about sex, an unwilling partner may have a distaste for the missionary position, be intimidated by dating sites, or be completely repulsed by threesomes. If you are writing a counter-culture piece, disgust with bureaucracy, dislike of the bourgeoisie, and an abhorrence for the normal may become fodder for the theme and action of your piece.
Now that I have partially figured it out on an intellectual level, I have to figure out how to write about appetites and aversions in my novels. My personal ambition is to write a scene as powerful as the one in Barry Levinson’s Avalon.
Writing Goals for 2019
This year my goals are to:
1. Edit my first novel into a coherent manuscript by December 7, 2019:
During the month of August, I drafted three new chapters for my first novel. Rewriting is going slowly because the manuscript still has plot holes.
2. Complete a draft of my second novel by December 7, 2019:
This past month, I drafted four more chapters for my second novel which makes a current total of 21 chapters.
3. Document my progress through a blog to be posted on the seventh day of each month, writing 12 blogs in 2019:
Today is September 7, 2019. This is my ninth blog of 2019 and my 21st overall since I started my goal setting for my writing process. I do enjoy writing the blog. Writing the blog forces me to articulate what I know and don’t know.
4. Continue to develop a network of kindred spirits in the world of writing and publishing:
In August, participating in the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers’ Novel Rama really fired me up! During the four days of sprints, I wrote a short story, added material to both my novels, and completed a draft of a non-fiction manual that I hope to be able to publish online. I did not manage to sprint to the summit of 25,000 words, but I did write 23,530. Even though it is online, I am beginning to feel as though I know some of the writers who participate. I love the little videos the sprint leaders post to encourage the participants. The comments from others are supportive, sometimes funny, and at times remind us all that life happens. The llama memes add humor to the challenges we all set for ourselves.
During this past month, the president of Boulder Writers Alliance, Rick Killian, and I attended a fundraiser for the Jaipur Literary Festival. Held at the home of Jyotsna and Roshi Raj, much like the old-fashioned salons, it featured the poets Reed Bye, Tree Bernstein, and Anne Waldman. I am looking forward to attending the festival at the Boulder Public Library in September.
In the middle of the month, I attended Rick Killian’s session on Craft and Style at the Boulder Writers Alliance meeting.
At the end of August, BWA’s annual social event brought together two of my favorite organizations—BWA and the Jaipur Literary Festival. Connecting our members will strengthen both groups.
laurellecommunications.blog 