What do fiction and chocolates have in common with life in general? How does creative writing relate to a sweet tooth? That’s the topic of today’s post.

Forrest Gump’s mother, played by Sally Field, once told her son, “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna git.”

Well, writing a novel can be a lot like life, at least when you’re a “pantser” like me and don’t use an outline.

Maybe that’s why we write. Maybe the discoveries, the uncertainties, and the twists and turns involved in writing a novel help us  deal with the uncertainties of life.

I’ve written before about a time I went to the grocery store just to pick up a couple of items I needed. I had a plan for dinner, or I thought I did. Then I ran into a friend, who got to talking about meat, and all…