National Chocolate Soufflé Day | Baking Up The Perfect Main Character with Character Development

I must admit surprise at having a day set aside as National Chocolate Soufflé Day. It isn’t an easy dish to create to perfection or to properly serve. It’s not like a muffin or an empanada that can be taken to go as you head out the door. It’s a fussy food that requires precision and care in the creation, presentation in the serving, and silverware to eat it properly.

National Chocolate Souffle Day | February 28, 2025

Chocolate soufflé requires technique and skill to get it “just right”; it must be served at a correct temperature or it will "fall" and appear to be ruined. These elements found in creating the perfect souffle are similar to building the main character of a strong story. First, compile the ingredients; each must be the right "temperature" of personality. Then, add in subtle layers of "flavor" in at the right time as you mix personality, complexity and relationships with other characters until finally, you have the "the correct structure of interest, narrative and action.

Main characters in narrative writing and storytelling require similar skill in character building or they fall flat before you serve them to your reader as a key ingredient in the tale. It is often hard for an author to balance the recipe of the plot, intrigue, humor and characters and also bring the reader into the world of the story.

If we as writers and authors are as adept at our craft of storytelling as the baker is at building the perfect chocolate soufflé and the reader will be fulfilled just like the diner who has been served chocolate. The smell of chocolate drifts on the air as it bakes and beckons the guests into the kitchen to wait as the decadence emerges from the oven at just the right moment, puffed and light as it climbs over the top of the baking dish in perfect confection to be served quickly after unmolding. As readers, we long for the stories who bring us along in the "baking of the character" only to have the author unveil the perfect ending and serve us a satisfying, fulfilling slice of pleasurable reading.

As writers, may we try every day to be as well connected to our reader as the baker is to his guests. So today, go in search of the for your perfect chocolate soufflé at the perfect bakery, the little shop around the corner, a little diner down the road, or the five star hotel with a great chef. When you it, appreciate the ingredients and the masterful way in which the chef has crafted that perfect chocolate creation.

Enjoy!

Until next time,

MG