“That’s why it’s called creative art.”

This weekend, my daughter and I whipped up holiday rice krispies treats for some of my co-workers. To make the process a little more interesting, we pretended the kitchen was the stage of a cooking show, Cooking For Cartoons. We assumed the roles of co-hosts Bruce Shockwell and Annie Bolini.

Talking to the imaginary camera is a great way to teach the girl a little bit about cooking, without her actually realizing that she’s learning. For instance, I mentioned that we were melting the butter and marshmallows over a low heat, and Chef Annie correctly explained to the audience, “Otherwise, you’ll have burnt butter.” She remembered that from a previous episode.

While the treats were cooling, we decided to write food reviews under the new identities of Gordon Belini (not to be confused with Bolini) and Mary Johnson. I suggested to Mary that we should Google some tips on writing food reviews.

Mary shook her head.

“Why not?” I said.

“I just want to do it my own way,” she said.

I explained that doing things her own way was fine, but that she needed to have some basic understanding about the traditional way of doing things first.That’s when I got the eye roll.

The disagreement quickly escalated into a full-on debate about whether art was more about learned skill or straight-up imagination. I took the side that art was a balance of both technical expertise and raw inspiration. I explained to her that in creative writing, it is sometimes okay to break the rules – but writers need a clear understanding of the rules first.

“You can have the greatest story in the world,” I told her, “but if you don’t have the technical skill to write it, no one is going to want to read it.”

She disagreed. “The only important thing is imagination. That’s why it’s called creative art.”

The argument never resolved. She ended up writing a pretty solid review anyway: “The taste of the unique pink rice krispy treats is crunchy with a hint of peppermint. The texture is rough and creamy. Smellwise it smells creamy and yummy. The looks of them are pink, green, and yummy. Overall it’s an 100% treat.”

I told her later that I was willing to say that imagination is very important to the creative process. I asked her if she was ready to admit that skill was at least somewhat important, too.

“Do I have to say it,” she said, “or mean it as well?”