by Heidi E. Y. Stemple

I’m a big fan of flavor. Besides writing, I love cooking. And eating. I know that some dishes are best served right out of the oven and some should rest. Some, like soups and stews, bolognese, and even the cranberry sauce I make at thanksgiving—those dishes need to sit. The flavors become deeper, richer, more complex. The waiting gives it time to build layers.

Oh, I also love a good metaphor.

Like the flavors of food, some ideas need time to sit. Though writing can be immediate gratification, usually it takes time and fresh eyes to really get the best out of a story. I collect ideas. Tons of ideas. Often I have many of them in notebooks, post-it notes, and in a file aptly named “ideas” on my computer. Sometimes one pops like a starting pistol and I am off at a run—trying to follow that first blush of infatuation about a character or situation. But, usually that is a sprint with no destination. (More metaphor!) Lucky, my many years of experience has mellowed me. If I cannot find the story or plot, I don’t worry. Time to let that idea marinate. Sometimes all it takes is a hot shower, a walk in the woods, a car ride… and the story untangles, a plot reveals itself, or my brain starts following paths until my fingers on the keyboard find the right one. But, this isn’t always the case. Sometimes, like that metaphorical casserole, you need to cover that idea with a tight lid, put it in the back of the fridge, and let it marinate on its own. Sometimes for a long long long time.

OK, that’s not a perfect metaphor. Maybe it’s tin foil? Maybe it’s the freezer? But, you see what I’m getting at…

I live on a farm so there is always something interesting out there—a predator alarming the crows and blue jays (they made it into my verse novel THE POETRY OF CAR MECHANICS), a nest with baby birds squawking and parents flitting in and out (WREN’S NEST), a friend’s backhoe digging up the farmland for a new crop (Book #2 of The AVIAN ADVENTURERS)… but sometimes, even though the idea is obvious, the story doesn’t preset itself right away. One day, around 2014, I looked out my window, across the expanse of the back acres of our farm. There are always deer back there and a regular bobcat. I also have fox and coyote and some really fat groundhogs. But, on that day I saw something completely different. Bigger. MUCH bigger. A young moose! I had never seen a moose in the wild before—let alone in my own backyard. I grabbed my binoculars and raised them to my eyes yelling what everyone yells when they see a moose, “that thing is ENORMOUS!” My writer brain, though, was not satisfied with that. It started playing around with the word.

Enormous…
Enorm-Moose…
E-Norm-Moose…
E. Norm Moose…

Now THAT sounded like a title!

But a title is not enough.

Who is E. Norm Moose?

Hmmmm… her full name is… let me think.

Ernestine Norman Moose. Her family didn’t intend to name her after her uncle Norman, but when she was born, she just looked so much like him—all knees and knuckles.

I’m finding my character.

Just like Uncle Norm, she is a klutz.

So, what is true about moose? After a year or two, they leave their mother and start a more solitary life. My daughter had just left for college and I worried about her out on her own. And I missed her so much. But, this isn’t Norm’s mother’s story… maybe I’m too close to that emotionally right now. Oh, and I’ve always read stories in the local newspapers about young moose showing up in cow pastures trying to make friends with the cows. How do the cows feel about this?

I’ve got some fun ideas here… but no real story. Is the story Norm? Is it about a cow? Is it about growing or loneliness? I didn’t know. I set it aside.

That’s fine. I wasn’t ready for it. Norm would have to wait until I was ready.

I checked back in on Norm every once in a while over the next bunch of years. Nothing sparked. I’d tweak the beginning and rewrite a bit. Then set her aside promising to come back soon. I felt a bit bad that I didn’t know what Norm wanted to do yet. But, she was patient. I was patient.

Then one day, I opened E.NormMoose.doc on my computer and I read the beginning. This time, Norm became quite clear. She took her first steps out into the world with me leading and following her. We fell into a mud puddle and off a boat. We found our way into a pasture… I won’t tell you more because E. Norm Moose comes out in fall 2026 with art by Annie Gregoire—her first book! I’m so excited to be part of her illustration journey! It took the right editor to love the story and then bring Annie on board. If I had just written Norm’s story that very first day, none of this would have happened. I am glad that I am patient with myself and my stories. Beautiful things happen when you wait and bring new eyes, a fresh take, and, because time away means you have grown as a writer—become more seasoned, if you will—better writing skills to a story. Don’t be afraid to step away. You may be surprised what flavors and layers you can bring out of your own writing if you are just willing and patient enough to let them marinate.

OK—all this talk of marinating is making me hungry.  You go write and I’m going to make some pasta!

Heidi E. Y. Stemple didn’t want to be a writer when she grew up. In fact, after she graduated from college, she became a probation officer in Florida. It wasn’t until she was 28 years old that she gave in and joined the family business, publishing her first short story in a book called FAMOUS WRITERS AND THEIR KIDS WRITE SPOOKY STORIES. The famous writer was her mom, author Jane Yolen. Since then, she has published more than 50 books (a few of which are still in the pipeline) and numerous short stories and poems, mostly for children.

Heidi lives and writes on a big old farm in Massachusetts that she shares with a dozen deer, a family of bears, three coyotes, two bobcats, a gray fox, a red fox, tons of birds, and some very fat groundhogs. Once a year she calls and counts owls for the Audubon Christmas Bird Count.