IFFY FICTION

1. Collect sticks of various sizes – from logs to pieces so small they really aren’t sticks, tree trunks to splinters. No piece is so small as to be without use. All are relevant.

2. Make a hollow pyramid of medium sized sticks, leaving a space for the smaller tinder and, beneath that, the kindling. You can never start a fire by holding a match to a log. No one taught me this. I wish someone had said “start with small fires and build upon the heat.”

3. All pieces must be dry and ready to burn. You might be thinking, “I’ll just use lighter fluid.” Wrong. You might create a flash and fool yourself into thinking your fire is burning. It isn’t. You’re burning fumes and will soon run out of fuel. If you force things, if you don’t plan, you will be eating uncooked hotdogs and cold cans of beans.

4. If you start with the log, you will fail. Don’t bother with the lighter fluid. Don’t bring it. Don’t even buy it. It’s too tempting, and if you use it, you will have learned nothing. No, you must be gradual.

5. Collect your sticks of various sizes, dry them, stack them precisely. Then set the smallest ablaze, giving just so much of your own breath. A soft push of air to feed, not choke and snuff. And you will see it grow. And consume.

6. Another important thing to know: building the fire isn’t the only thing. You must also tend it. You must feed it. The more you give it, the more it will eat. If you build it and walk away, one of two things will happen. It will either grow and devour everything around it, or possibly worse, crumble into its own ashes and go cold.

Photo by Courtnie Tosana on Unsplash