02 April 2011

How to Write a Food Blog, or Why Don't You Put More Pictures on Your Blog?

Ovaries of steel. That's what I have. Yes, my reproductive system is invulnerable and a choice metaphor for my blazing courage. I write a food blog nearly bereft of photos, without tell-all stories about my life, without delving into my philosophy of life, and even without a background in food production (I'm not even the best cook in my family). What's more, I have the huevos to boast about it.

Frequently I receive this comment: "I love your blog! You need more pictures though."

No I don't! You need more imagination. I love reading cookbooks, especially those classics without many photographs, like Simple Food, the Tassajara Bread Book, the Voluptuous Vegan, and How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. It entices me to imagine for myself how the food looks, smells, and tastes.

I'm one of those nerds who prefers computer games with basic graphics (Super Mario forever!) because they give me the space to invent the majority of the details about the world and characters. I also prefer to play the board game Agricola with cubes of different colors representing cattle (brown cube), wild boar (black cube), and sheep (white cube). I've had the option to upgrade to animal-shaped pieces and firmly refused.

I prefer books to movies. I prefer naps to movies. And I prefer a movie that implies rather than shows every graphic detail about its protagonist's private life. Tell, not show.

Which brings me to the point of this blog. You may scavenge some useful recipes from it but mostly I just want you to enjoy the writing. I am an award-winning writer; in fact, I won two writing awards in junior high and don't you forget it. I write this blog because I wish to practice good writing, although I admit I've always had a soft spot for food—in the latest Serious Eats poll "Food—Yes or No?" I voted yes.

So how do you write a blog? Any way you damn well please. That's my attitude, the attitude of someone with not one, but two ovaries of steel.

4 comments:

Merut said...

I agree. You should make your blog personal to you. It should be based on how you communicate and what you value. I love Super Mario too - I get too overwhelmed with the new games. And I love books over movies, but every now and then I love a good picture book too.

Anonymous said...

Barbara
You are hilarious.
For complicated recipes, I prefer pictures or drawings indicating each step. But then steel is absent from my ovaries. I too prefer books and naps to movies unless it's Casablanca.

Veronica said...

I don't like blogs that all they have posted up is pictures. It kind of seems like a cope out. Be proud of your writing! Because there's definitely some other blogs out there that I can't even get through a post because it's not well written.

kay said...

i like your writing, Sarah. But I do wish you had pictures. Still. I also like egg metaphors. Agricola is not fun. I love cats! Bah!

 
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