Hey, Reader!

It was a hot summer day last year and me and my husband were walking down the street in downtown Burlingame. We’d just left one of my two favorite ice cream shops—Salt & Straw—after picking up a birthday gift for my cousin’s daughter from a local indie toy shop.

The street was unrecognizable in its post-pandemic state, now lined with street-side permanent dining instead of parked cars. But it was nice to see people enjoying the activities they loved while making masks a new part of their everyday fashion.

The Bay Area’s new normal.

We’d each gotten a different flavor at Salt & Straw—me, my tried and true favorite—lavender honey, and him, whatever struck his fancy that day.

My husband looked over and made the glorious mistake of asking for a bite of my ice cream. I knew he would hate it. He hates anything flower flavored. And I did try to warn him.

But…

“Bleugh! OMG! What is this, soap?!”

He shoves the cone back at me as he starts to paw at his tongue.

“Uck I can’t— Give me something to wash the taste out of my mouth!”

I can’t help it. I bust up laughing right there on the sidewalk and everyone who wasn’t already watching our spectacle of unintentional comedy sure is now.

“Why would you even like something like that?” he demands, chugging the drink that I hand him.

“Why did you even want to try it? You knew it was flowers,” I counter, laughing and gasping for breath.

“I thought it would be more mild.”

“I hate bland flavored things,” I remind him. “And why would it be mild? Then it would just taste watered down.”

“Yeah like soapy water.”

I roll my eyes and give my cone a dramatic lick to spite him.

I love my lavender ice cream. He thinks it tastes like soap. He loves dark chocolate. I think it tastes like dirt.

No one’s tastes are exactly the same.

Which means…

What you write might not be the flavor of choice for every reader, but you know what? That’s ok.

In a world of vanilla, you want to be the champagne sherbet

The butterscotch swirl…

…the lavender honey.

The sort of story people will cosplay.

Or stay up till 2 AM having arguments with their friends about.

You don’t want to be the meh selection on the shelf. You want to be someone’s ride-or-die favorite.

Because remember: If you try to appeal to everyone you end up appealing to no one.

So, Reader, what’s your flavor of choice?

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Your cohort in storytelling,

Kat Vancil

🐱

PS 👉 I’ve started a Youtube channel which you can check out here. Right now it’s just a few shorts but there will be more awesome content in the future.

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The Saga Quest

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