Distraction and The Sistine Chapel Effect

Sometimes, when the writing is being uncooperative, you need to do something else. It's a nice thing when someone asks you to do that something else, so you can pretend that this isn't a tactic to outrun your inability to figure out what comes next. This is where the cake making comes in. I don't wake up and decide "hey, I'm going to make a Green Man cake!" or "gee, wouldn't it be fun to make a Wedgewood Regency cake," but if someone says (as someone did) "My birthday is coming up and I...