Writing Doctor: This Pen is for Hire
How’s your prose?
Let me find what ails you, and set you to “writes”. Whether through modest adjustments or major overhauls, let’s get your prose in good health!
You are a food blogger, but your dream is to become a food writer. Writing is a craft, and like all crafts, it takes time and patience to learn. Think of it as a house. You start with a solid foundation, with a frame and a floor, but you have to finish the building so you can house your family.
Working with a writing coach is like adding a roof, insulation and siding to suit the climate you live in. The climate can be compared to the market or the type of writing you aim to do. You have to hone your writing to that market and meet the expectations of publishers and of your audience. Writing free of spelling and grammatical errors is not enough.
The longest part of your “house” is the finishing work: painting, trim, doors, cabinets, etc. “Finishing work” is the long series of steps you follow to produce a final draft. It includes proofreading, developmental editing and copyediting.
Making your way to the perfect final draft is not so different from getting fitted for a tailor-made dress or suit. You choose the fabric, cut, color, etc., but that is just the beginning. Each draft is like a fitting. Some of them will work; others won’t. Just as your dressmaker doesn’t hesitate to take out the basting stitches and start again, you mustn’t hesitate to rework, add, cut, or even throw a draft in the bin. It’s part of the process.
Like most people, you have the basic tools to become a writer. Take the first step and build on your writing skills. Learn how to find your inspiration, find the right time and spot to work, get organized, and set goals. Find your voice and let it speak through your writing. Learn to be kind to yourself as you perfect your craft and to tap into your creativity at any time. Add to your skill base. Become the food writer you’ve always dreamed of becoming.
If you’re a beginning writer or a food blogger, you probably need to polish your writing skills. From proofreading to mentoring, to developmental or copy editing, let me be your Writing Doctor and get you to the finish line!
See also Food Blogging 101: 10 Writing Tips for Beginning Food Writers, How to Start a Food Blog, Why Start a Food or Author Blog?, Food Blogging 101: 10 Steps for Starting a Blog
Jonell Galloway grew up on Wendell Berry and food straight from a backyard Kentucky garden. She is a freelance writer. She attended Le Cordon Bleu and La Varenne cooking schools in Paris and the Académie du Vin, worked for the GaultMillau restaurant guide and CityGuides in France and Paris and for Gannett Company in the U.S., and collaborated on Le tour du monde en 80 pains / Around the World with 80 Breads with Jean-Philippe de Tonnac in France; André Raboud, Sculptures 2002-2009 in Switzerland; Ma Cuisine Méditerranéenne with Christophe Certain in France, At the Table: Food and Family around the World with Ken Albala, and a biography of French chef Pierre Gagnaire. She ran a cooking school in France, and owned a farm-to-table restaurant, The Three Sisters’ Café, with her two sisters in the U.S. She organizes the Taste Unlocked bespoke food and wine tasting awareness workshops with James Flewellen, is an active member of Slow Food, and runs the food writing website The Rambling Epicure. Her work has been published in numerous international publications and she has been interviewed on international public radio in France, Switzerland, and the U.S. She has just signed on at In Search of Taste, a British print publication, and is now working on two books, What to Eat in France and What to Eat in Venice.
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