why m&ms?

I have been known to write with a bowl of M&Ms and a cup of lukewarm coffee at my side. But it seems that I am not the only one. Every now and then I stumble upon another writer who cannot get words on the page without the aid of that magic brown packet of heaven at her side. And I came to wondering why have M&Ms became the staple food for so many writers.

So here are my theories:

Are they the most inspirational food?

That is, does the range of colours perfectly fulfil any mood requirement needed when writing a book? (Hang on a second while I pour out the remainder of my packet of M&Ms just so that I remember the colours properly... Okay. Here we go.)

We have red for writing red hot love scenes. Blue for when your characters get a little teary. Yellow for the times one’s heroine would rather run away than face her hero. Or how about when your characters are green with envy? There are orange ones for those bittersweet moments. And brown? Mmmm... the brown ones are like a bit of choccie sorbet, to cleanse the mind of other emotions between times.

Grab a small pile of the appropriate colour and off you go!

Perhaps they are the most convenient food?

You can eat the things one handed with your eyes closed! How many other foods can claim that writer-friendly eat-ability??? (Okay, excuse me for another minute - I have to open a new packet to properly demonstrate this next theory. Right. Now I’m back...)

1) Pick up bag with one hand
2) Find corner with teeth and tear
3) Pour into bowl
4) Reach out for a handful whenever you feel a tad peckish

How easy is that?!?!?

Or are they simply a dietary necessity?

Most writers write whilst seated in a stationary manner upon a chair. So where can we get a ready source of healthy diet and exercise while knuckling down at the mentally exhausting pursuit of writing a novel?

My M&M packet (which I naturally had to empty to be able to read properly) reads: May contain peanuts and treenuts. Excellent! These are a requirement for a healthy diet.

Added to the possibility of nuts you are assured of a measure of dairy (milk solids) and the emulsifier (soy lecithin). The dairy comment will no doubt help writers achieve healthy bones and teeth (needed for holding us upright in our office chairs and for smiling in publicity shots and for book jacket covers) and soy lecithin aids in the production of the hormone acetylcholine, the neurotransmitter that "activates" muscle contraction, which sure sounds like exercise to me!

I reckon I have searched out some terribly sound theories, but any other ideas would be most appreciated. Mostly so I can explain to my husband why they are a necessary part of every shop and so that I can convince the tax office why M&Ms to be a tax deduction for any writer.

ally@allyblake.com