Secret Sauce ~ Jacquolyn McMurray

At the beginning of the stay at home orders for COVID-19, it seemed people who hadn't used their ovens in years started baking bread and sweet treats.

                        Photo by Rebecca Matthews on Unsplash

Since I've had more time at home than I've had in years, even I joined the trend and whipped up a batch of chocolate chip cookies, two trays of brownies, homemade pizza crust, and some pretty darn good gluten-free, almond flour biscuits. And all that baking made me think about how those who came before us figured out just the right balance of flour, yeast, salt, and oil to form a loaf of bread that could be sliced and still hold together once the mustard and mayo were slathered on.

And that made me think about a TV program hubby and I watched about a high-stakes contest for the best barbequed meat. We giggled when the contestants kept referring to their "flavor profiles." These highly guarded, secret combinations of ingredients, are all about balance. A teaspoon of this, a dash of that, and they've created award winning recipes.

                         Photo by Ahmad on Unsplash

And then I thought about the concept of balance in other creative pursuits such as sewing a quilt, designing a building, or writing stories. Don't they all have their own form of flavor profiles? That special combination of balancing components to form a finished product? The secret sauce that makes some projects rise above the rest?

Take a look at the quilt my husband's grandmother gifted us. Although the fabrics are a hodgepodge of colors and patterns, the overall design is pleasing because Grandma followed a template popular since the 1920s--the Dresden Plate pattern. It is pleasing to look at because there is a sense of balance and order coupled with Grandma's special flair for mixing colors and patterns within the given structure.

                                  Photo by J. McMurray

Think about what it takes for an architect to design a multileveled building. She must adhere to some basic structural guidelines, and then use her creativity to give the building her signature look. 

                          Photo by Tobias Keller on Unsplash

And then there are the storytellers who understand that readers expect some semblance of underlying structure—a premise that Lisa Cron, in Wired for Story, claims is hardwired in our brains. 

                         Photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash

What makes our stories memorable is the combination of structure and our own secret sauce, our voices. Even if we can plot a story, if we don’t add our own secret sauce, our own distinct voice, our readers will set our books down before they finish the first five pages.

As a creative, what is your secret sauce?