Sushi Roll Novel Writing: figure out your strengths and weaknesses

We have a new restaurant in our town. A sushi restaurant. This is a big deal. Why? Because our little mountain town has its share of fast food and Mexican restaurants, but nothing so exotic as sushi. I love to go in to watch the sushi chef craft his amazing rolls.

It's kind of like arts and crafts. Take a sheet of nori and spread it with sticky rice. Add ingredients selected from the dizzying array on the list. Then it gets rolled and cut into adorable little chunks. 

Watching the rolls take shape got me thinking the other day. A novel is kind of like a sushi roll.

Think about it. Like sushi, all the ingredients of a novel: dialogue, character, setting, mood, etc. should be fresh and colorful and unique. Would a monochrome sushi roll look appetizing? Would you care for seconds if all the flavors were exactly the same? What makes sushi so popular is the combination of flavors and textures and colors all in one bite.

Alone, just avocado or nori or rice wouldn't be satisfying. Likewise, sparkling dialogue or an imaginative setting alone will not carry a novel. Writers need to polish every aspect of their craft and not rely only on the areas of their strengths. You may have dreamed up a great character, but without the rest of the picture, he'll stand alone. 

A lump of rice is not sushi.

Find out more about your strengths and weaknesses with these posts:

My strengths lie in characterization and mood. However, dialogue and setting are more challenging for me. How about you? What have you discovered about yourself in your writing journey?

8 comments:

  1. Love the comparison! I'm still working on my strengths...as for weaknesses, I've got plenty. Slow-pacing and too much description in early drafts are just two of them :)

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  2. Glad to hear I'm not alone! I just remembered that another big weakness of mine is just finishing!

    ~Debbie

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  3. I think my biggest weakness is characterization. I'm working on giving my characters their own voice while keeping my vice out of the way.

    I hope no one throws a sushi roll at me, but I don't care for sushi.

    Rice? I love it!

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  4. I've discovered I can begin a story with no problem, but find the middle and ending a challenge. I hope to work on this in the Fall. I like your comparison Debbie!

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  5. I'm a dialogue champion, apparently. However, setting could be better...

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  6. I know. I don't care for eating sushi, but I love to watch it being made!

    Jarm, the middle is truly challenging. It's hard to come up with enough interesting things to keep a reader engaged!

    Sonia, somehow I'd have picked dialogue as a strength of yours!

    ~Debbie

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  7. For some reason, I really love the way the U.S.A. does sushi. It's so much yummier than Australian sushi. :)

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  8. Wow, Trisha, I had no idea there would be differences! Makes me wonder if it tastes different in Japan.

    ~Debbie

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