Comfort Food Writing Prompt and Recommendations

By Marilyn Friedman

Last week, it started to get pitch black at 5 p.m. every day, and the weather finally cooled off. Although I'm not a fan of the early darkness, I am enjoying the chillier weather and the excuse to light my fireplace and excavate my winter wardrobe! Another thing I love about winter is indulging in a hot bowl of soup or some comfort food before sitting down to write. Here are a few of my favorite places to get comfort food in LA so my muse feels toasty and ready to get to work:

• Fire Roasted Tomato Soup at Bread Lounge in DTLA
• Truffle Mac and Cheese at Blair's in Silverlake
• Clam Chowder at Santa Monica Seafood in Santa Monica
• Mongolian Hot Pot at Hot Pot Hot Pot in Monterey Park

And don't forget that Writing Pad has a wonderful collection of classes to keep your muse cozy and amused in the last two months of 2012. For instance, on Tuesday, Nov. 27, you can learn how to write a hilarious stand-up comedy routine with master comic Johnny Walker (“Just For Laughs” TBS Las Vegas Comedy Festival, "The Tonight Show","The Hollywood Improv", "Laugh Factory")! Johnny will show you how to mine your life for hysterical material and how to master the mix, act out, and logic play. By the end of the class, you'll have a short set written that you can perform at the Pad! 

Also, on Wed., Nov. 28 find out how to land that staff TV writing job and keep it with Emmy award winning writer Ed Crasnick ("Hot In Cleveland", "The Sopranos") in From Spec to Staff: A Ticket To The Writer's Room! Ed will show you how to create and market a pilot or spec script to get that writing job that you've always dreamed of and share how to excel in the writer's room. You'll even get feedback on your show idea.

A full list of our classes is below. Click on the links to sign up before they are full, my darlings.

Note: classes with an asterix (*) will be held at our new, posh Westside location in Westwood!

Classes Starting Week of Nov. 26- Dec. 2
•Stand Out Stand-Up: A Comedy Workshop
•From Spec to Staff: A Ticket To The Writer's Room
•True Tales: Crafting Compelling Stories For The Screen
•Memorable Memoir Bootcamp: Getting To Second Base*

•Get Your Book Published Intensive*

OTHER CLASSES BY GENRE

Book Publishing

•How To Hook An Agent*

Journalism
•So You Want To Be A Freelancer*
 

Writing for Actors

•Do Re Mi, Baby: Songwriting Made Easy

•The You Show: A Solo Performance Intensive

•Say It Isn't So: A Storytelling Class

Yum! Butternut Squash Soup!

Writing Prompt: Cold Weather Comfort Food
It's cold outside which means it's time to make baked apples with caramel sauce, Mama's crock pot chili, and of course, roast turkey with wild mushroom stuffing and heaps of piping hot gravy! Start by making a list of your 5 favorite comfort foods (or your fictional character's favorite comfort foods). Pick one. Now add a specific memory that comes to mind when you think of that dish. Last, add a sensory detail to this comfort food (sound, taste, touch or smell) that goes with your comfort food. Now write for 10 minutes about this comfort food, and make sure to include the memory and the sensory detail. Then, post the results in the comments of this blog to be entered into the contest for a free class!

I can’t wait to see what you come up with (feel free to email me if you want to remain anonymous but still enter the comment contest). I'm going to write about my mother's homemade hot borscht that she made on cold winter days. It was full of wonderful vegetables like beans, carrots, and potatoes and tasted like a warm hug.

Write about your favorite cold weather comfort food!  Post your 10 minute write in the comments of this blog, and you could win a free class!