Research, Recipes and Writing: Writing a Good Post to Go Along with a Recipe is Easier Than You Think
Dishfolio's food bloggers definitely know their way around the kitchen and the camera, but writing is a different story altogether. Let's welcome today's guest blogger Rachel Roe who shares with us her experiences and knowledge in being a writer and a food blogger. Rachel Roe's blog Tramplingrose: Cooking, Baking & Ranting in Small-Town South Dakota is about cooking, baking, and in her own words, a little complaining about her life in a small prairie town.
Writing doesn't always come naturally to everyone.
Some people are just born to do it. I like to think I'm one of
them. I've been writing in one form or another since I was around 4
years old (my very first story was apparently about a mouse who
went to the moon). When it comes to writing a food blog post, I
usually have several ideas going all at once, and several drafts
started and saved. I am constantly doing recipe research online and
in the several food magazines I receive each month. I work
full-time in addition to blogging, and often I will begin a post a
day or two ahead of time, just so I can get some of the work out of
the way. That leaves more time for photo editing and any rewriting
I decide needs to be done.
Once I settle on what I'm going to make, I usually start by titling my post the same as the recipe. That's primarily done for SEO purposes, but it also lets people know right away what recipe I'm going to be discussing.
Because my blog is both a food blog and somewhat of a personal diary, I often include anecdotes about my family, or myself as well as what made me want to try a particular recipe. For example, one old post I have talks about some biscuits I made, and how proud I was that they looked good for the first time I could remember. There's a story in my family that after my great-grandparents got married, and my great-grandmother made biscuits, my great-grandfather commented that they weren't as good as his mother's or something to that effect. She then told him that if he thought he could do better, he was welcome to make his own biscuits. And he did! I'll often try to present my recipe in the context of a story, so that it's not just, "Here's a recipe, here's some pictures, go and make it."
Sometimes I'll talk about things going on in my personal life or requests I've had from friends for things I should test out. I do a lot of baking and my coworkers are always willing to be my guinea pigs. I'll sometimes include their reactions or observations, to give a perspective other than my own. And if something doesn't turn out the way I was expecting, I'll let my readers know. Every once in awhile, something that I think looks or sounds mouth-wateringly delicious falls flat after I make it. I believe in honesty, and I'll let my readers know if I'm not overly thrilled by something.
And finally, I proofread multiple
times before I publish, and I proofread after I've published. I'll
even go back and edit a previously published post if I come across
a misspelling or other error!
Even if you don't consider yourself much of a writer, it is one of those skills that get better the more you practice. Try and write everyday, even if it's just for five minutes.
