Food Writing 101 - Day 2 (August 15, 2015)

For yesterday's session, the second one, we had to bring our assignment: an essay expounding on our chosen herb/spice/fruit from the Taste-Memory exercise. We were asked to read our essays out loud and have our fellow participants criticize our work so we could know our areas of improvement. 

I picked sweet basil because it's the one out of the thirteen I was most familiar with. My essay included the history and etymology of pesto, the dishes I make with it, and the fact that I find it as the perfect alternative for mayonnaise. One of the participants said that my essay "made me want to eat pesto". The other one said that she liked the last part because "it was a call to action". Some said that my work was informative and sounded like a magazine article, which was what I was after. For the negative comments, some of them said that it "lacked personality" and could be improved by having more details on the dishes that I make with pesto. But the most striking comment I've heard was that the voice of my essay was a bit confusing because it was informative at first but then became personal in the middle part. I agree with that comment to be honest. I know very well that I'm finding it a bit hard to find my writing voice, stick with it, and continuously improve it. SIGHS.

But I'm glad and relieved because a good solution to that problem was tackled yesterday! A fellow participant and Ms. Ginny said that in order to make a food writing essay both personal and informative in an effective manner, I could begin the essay by telling the story of a scene (better if based on my real life) with complete details. An example is (since my essay was about making pesto):

"When I went to the kitchen, I saw my mom, back facing towards me, grinding the basil leaves using a mortar and pestle. After that, she then started to add the other ingredients like garlic, salt, and pepper. And continued to grind them all even more. It didn't take long for the room to be filled with this medicinal and minty fragrance, which is all thanks to the herb being ground." 

After describing that scene, that's where I could put the informative paragraph about the history and etymology of pesto and relate it to the scene above.

"Just like what my mom did with the sweet basil leaves, Italians in the olden times used a mortar and pestle as well in order to grind the herb and turn it into pesto. This is how the word 'pesto' came about; it's derived from 'pestare' which is Italian for 'to crush' or 'to pound'."

After that, I could discuss the different dishes that I make with pesto and how I recommend it as the perfect substitute for mayonnaise:

"Since the day my mom first tried making pesto and had me and my siblings taste it, I was a fan. And now I always make my own from scratch. I often serve it with almost anything because it effortlessly turns any simple dish into something more special, both in taste and in presentation. I mix it with eggs to make a Pesto omelet. I serve it with Tuna to make a healthier sandwich or taco filling. I spread it onto Cream Dory to add flavor. And of course, it's the best when it’s served with what it was originally made for: pasta. But besides those things, what I really love about Pesto is that it’s a healthy alternative for Mayonnaise. It gives any dish that extra flavor without the guilt unhealthy ingredients bring."

There it goes! Though that's not the whole essay, I think it's way better than the one I presented yesterday! 

For our next assignment, we have to write our experience after cooking something or dining at a restaurant. I don't really have time to cook so I decided to have dinner this coming week at Little Tokyo, a small food district dedicated to Japanese cuisine lovers. I'll write more about it and my experience with it next week! 

Food Writing 101 - Day 1 (August 8, 2015)

Last Saturday, August 8, was the first day of the workshop I recently signed up for, Food Writing 101. It's facilitated by one of Philippines' prominent Food Writers, Ms. Ginny Mata. 

Our main agenda for the first meeting was to learn about food writing through the Taste-Memory method and practice it with a very interesting exercise. Ms. Ginny brought around thirteen herbs, spices, and fruits. Some of it were vanilla bean, kaffir lime, lemon, orange, curry leaves, cinnamon, sweet basil, Italian oregano, and lemongrass. She asked us to smell each of the thirteen and write two things: (1) at least three words/phrases that came to our minds upon smelling and (2) an invented/imagined or true memory related to the herb, spice, and fruit. Below is what I wrote for vanilla bean, as an example:

Vanilla Bean - cookies, cheesecake, desserts in general - baking oreo cheesecake with my mama

Being able to smell the different fragrances of the herbs, spices, and fruits was a very refreshing experience. It also taught me appreciation and made me realize that subconsciously or not, we take for granted even the smallest things like the smell of a staple ingredient that we keep in our pantry and use for our meals. So next time, it wouldn't hurt to take a few seconds to smell that one herb, spice, or fruit.

Pre-Writing Techniques, Rituals, and Dealing with Writer's Block

Last October 11, Saturday, I attended my first ever writing workshop. Though I'm a bit disappointed in myself because I was 13 minutes late. But whatever, it was totally worth it. The two speakers were well-known news/feature writers in the communication industry here in the Philippines, so I was very thankful to be one of their students even for just one day.

I really learned a lot from the workshop. Like the different Story Structures , finding your Story Angle, ways to find a Story Line, various Pre-Writing Techniques and Rituals to bring out the inner writer in you, how to overcome writer's block, and writing a good lead. I'm going to share my favorite ones among all those things which I think would be helpful to many as well.

Pre-Writing Techniques and Rituals:

These activities would stimulate your mind in your pre-writing stage. 

Creating an outline and drawing a mind map were two of the four tips the speakers gave us. These two are pretty common because most of us have already learned it from school. Therefore I won't expound on it anymore. But the next two tips the speakers shared were a little bit more peculiar.

1. Morning Pages

This is when you write around 3 pages of your thoughts first thing in the morning in order to help you gain clarity and produce ideas. But take note, writing morning pages require you to use pen and paper, not gadgets.

      2. Artist Dates

First of all, can I just say how much I love the way it sounds? Anyway, artist dates are trips taken once-a-week that would help you discover more of the things that tickle your fancy. For example, if you're into writing, bookstores may be a good option for you. Or if you're an aspiring artist, exhibits and museums would suit your taste. According to the speaker, "artist dates fires up imagination and encourages play." 

How to Deal with Writer's Block:

1. Creating your own time and space

You must find your Golden Hour. This is the time of the day when you write the most with the best quality. For me, it's from 11pm to 4am. Yep. My Golden Hour is that late.. and I think that's the reason I ended up becoming a night owl. No regrets though. Then once you find your Golden Hour, you must take advantage of it. Don't waste any second. As for space, you have to find/create a conducive place where you can write. Clear the clutter around you and work on one thing at a time to help you focus.

2. Do something unrelated to writing.

During the workshop, we all agreed that you shouldn't force it when no idea is coming to you at a certain time. Taking a walk outside, listening to music, exercising, and watching television are some of the good options you can take. Put simply, just do something unrelated to writing that can clear your mind.

3. Do writing exercises

If you don't want to do something unrelated to writing, it's fine. You can do free writing or use photos as your writing prompts. For the latter, this means finding a photo and trying to come up with different story angles related to it. An example is a photo of a beach. What story angles can you write using a photo of a beach? Some examples are: top 10 beaches in the world, tips on how to stay on budget while planning for a beach vacation, a review about a beach resort, etc. I like this tip so much because let's be real, letting your eyes see just a bunch of words for quite a long time is pretty tiring. Looking at photos is a fresh way of coming up with writing prompts.
       4. Do word play.
Just play with words that are suitable to your topic or interest. You'll be amazed with how much you've come up with later on.

So those are my favorite tips from the workshop! Attending it was totally worthwhile. Nothing feels better than learning about new things relevant to your interests. It gives you a sense of productivity and growth. Looking forward to my next one!