Category: writing

Intertextuality: Wednesday Workshop

~ Meg ~ 9 Comments

I had this amazing conversation with my friend, Roger Moore, last week about how we as writers often find ourselves following the same themes as each other or even using similar language in our work without being aware of it. He explained the concept of ‘intertextuality’ and I asked if he could expand on the idea for a post. Here is the marvelous result! Enjoy!

rogermoorepoet's avatarrogermoorepoet

Intertextuality

Intertextuality is the dialog that takes place between texts or as Merriam-Webster explains it: “the complex interrelationship between a text and other texts taken as a basic to the creation or interpretation of the text.”

Often we write from an intertextual perspective when we respond to other writers and their thoughts and imagery. This is why, in the creative process, reading can be as important as writing. Reading expands our vocabulary. It reinforces some of our own opinions and challenges others. Without reading, we are lonely rocks in sunless seas.

To be creative, we need to be aware of what others are writing and how they view the world we inhabit. When we read creatively we read with an eye to improving our creativity and our structures. We look for new ideas, new images, new words, new ways of expressing our thoughts.

Often we think we are being original…

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Le Boulangerie (12) Cinnamon Swirl Bread

~ Meg ~ 33 Comments

To accompany my novel in progress: Breaking Bread, welcome to Le Boulangerie.

I realized after I baked this bread and started preparing this post, that cinnamon bread is more of a mid winter, even holiday-esque kind of bread and here we are at the start of spring. Nevertheless, in my neck of the woods, we had our first real snowfall of any significance last week and the cold returned with a vengeance. Which put me in the mood for this comforting bit of goodness. And while this seems like a decadent loaf, the cinnamon has a positive effect on one’s blood sugar so don’t feel too bad in your indulgence!

Cinnamon Swirl Bread:

For the dough:

  • 3 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon instant yeast
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 cup milk

Filling:

  • 1/3 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 3 tablespoons ground cinnamon

Method:

  • In the stand mixer, combine all dough ingredients with the dough hook attachment.
  • After a smooth dough forms, allow to rise in the bowl, covered with a towel, for an hour and a half.
  • After rising is complete, turn the dough out onto a floured surface and roll (with a pin) into a rectangle 18×24″.
  • Mix together filling ingredients and spread onto the sheet of dough, leaving a one inch border all around.
  • Starting with the short end, roll the dough into a log. Pinch the ends closed and fit it, seam side down into a lightly greased 8 1/2″ x 4 1/2″ bread pan.
  • Cover pan and allow bread to rise for about 2 hours (or until the loaf crowns just above the rim of the pan).
  • Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes, tenting with aluminum foil about halfway through the bake time.
  • Remove from oven and allow to cool on wire rack before slicing.