You've got an idea for a food memoir, or a narrative or even a cookbook, but you're not sure what direction to head or how to contain the many many idea you've got exploding in that industrious head of yours. Or, you're debating the route you've taken with your blog. Even a cookbook needs a narrative, a hook, a clarifying concept. A blog needs an identity. A memoir needs a clear narrative. When facing a big project, it's easy to look at the examples of success. But imitation begs a question. What makes you unique? What's your story? In this four-hour optional workshop, we'll spend some time looking at these questions, along with what makes notable food stories endure, regardless of the media in which they appear. You'll complete a series of exercises to help you start thinking about your how to find a voice for your work. We'll discuss and flesh out your concepts within a small group environment. The most difficult part of being a writer is finding your voice; the toughest part of being an author or a blogger is determining a clear way forward. Let's start the process of finding both together.

1. Voice & Story
Kathleen Flinn

2. First, a little reading


3. 
Voice
- The Six-Word Memoir
- Free Writing: A Series of Questions
(yoga break)
 Story
- Charlie Rose
- The Story Cycle
- Story Boarding
- Cat in the Kitchen
Q&A
In this session:

4. Voice


5. “Anybody who can talk can also write.
If something is worth hearing or
listening to, it's very probably worth
reading. So, this above all: Find your
own voice.”
- Christopher Hitchens in Vanity Fair, 2011

6. “Ultimately, voice is the
writer's personal style
coming through in the
writing. It's as complex and
varied as human
personality itself.”
(Jack Hart, A Writer's Coach: An Editor's
Guide to Words That Work. Pantheon, 2006)

7. The Six-Word Memoir

In November 2006, writer and editor Larry Smith issued
a challenge to fans of his Web publication, SMITH
Magazine.
Inspired by Ernest Hemingway's legendary shortest of
short stories ("For sale: Baby shoes, never worn"),
Smith asked his readers to describe their lives in six
words. The Six-Word Memoir contest officially ended
after a month, but the stories kept coming.

8. Six Word Memoir

In order to narrow down a life into six
words, a writer needs to begin with many
words and ideas.
In other words, who are you?

9. Five years on, participants have
contributed more than half a million mini-memoirs.
Smith has published five
compilations of the intensely personal
accounts and continues his online quest
to spark the creativity of aspiring writers.
"There is inspiration everywhere," he
says. "Even if you don't think you're a
storyteller, you are."

10. Examples

Dolores Tuffin:
“Free falling, ready for my future”
Jennifer Boire:
”Spiritual being having a human experience”
Snabors:
“Taking each step tenaciously and joyfully”
Cindy Starry:
“Flow within your heart's joy forever”

11. More Examples:

Best Wordplay:
“Meditation: Personal search engine via inner-net.”
Funniest:
“15,000 days spent considering a bellybutton.”
Most Sensory:
“Hardwired for coupling. Short-circuited being single.”
Most Circular:
“Dad’s baby now changing Dad’s diapers.”
Best Metaphor:

12. More Examples

Best Metaphor:
“Mouth to mouth couldn’t resuscitate the marriage.” -Laconic
from Six Words on Love & Heartbreak
Most Self-Aware:
“Won’t let magazines shape my body.” -songwriter
Bonus #7—Celebrity Six-Worder of the Week:
“Not funny. Funny. Not funny. Funny?” - Jimmy Fallon.
”Wishing sadness and geometry made sense.” - Grounded
Clouds

13. How to Start

 List as many words, topics, memories, or personality
traits as you can about yourself – activities you do,
items, belongings, places you like, and feelings you
have. Don’t edit, cross out, change, or rewrite
words. Don’t worry about spelling – just write. You
are going for quantity, so write as much as you can in
about three minutes. You should fill at least one full
page.

14. Example List

 Teacher, wife, enthusiasm, coffee, overworked,
smores, colorful, justice, missions, laughter, moving,
sister, friend, grumpy kitty, travel, corgies, Christian
music, inspirational, contemplative, hands and feet,
questions without answers, cards, planning,
preparing, connecting, chocolate, reading, children,
compassion, guidance, support, mentor, walks,
autumn, apple cider, leaves, crisp fresh air, heirloom
rings, surprise, analyze…

15. Next… highlight

 Now, circle the two or three words that stand out for
you, the ones that you could say more about.

16. Example List

 Teacher, wife, enthusiasm, coffee, overworked,
smores, colorful, justice, missions, laughter, moving,
sister, friend, grumpy kitty, travel, corgies, Christian
music, inspirational, contemplative, hands and feet,
questions without answers, cards, planning,
preparing, connecting, chocolate, reading, children,
compassion, guidance, support, mentor, walks,
autumn, apple cider, leaves, crisp fresh air, heirloom
rings, surprise, analyze…

17. Next… write

Pick one item and freewrite about the thought.
That means you just start writing about that idea, object,
role, or event. The only rule is don’t stop writing for at
least two or three minutes. Whatever comes to mind is
fair game.
compassion

18. Freewrite Example

“Compassion drives me to the questions about
social justice and our role around the
world. What can I do? Is it enough? Aren’t
we more effective together but how can we
all work together? What should I do
independently even if community doesn’t
choose to? How can I show care and
compassion to brothers and sisters around
the world, in my neighborhood? I feel
wrapped up in these questions without clear
answers...”

19. Example continued…

“…Don’t we all want to make lasting
difference? Isn’t that going to happen
through love? Pride and hate will not
change the world. Change the world
sometimes seems like an overwhelming
cliché. I am only in charge of a small
part of this world….and there is only one
part that I can change…myself.”

20. Synthesize

 As a result of the freewrite, you have a sense of your
topic. Synthesize, combine the individual elements
into an understandable whole, your writing into a
phrase that captures the essence of what your topic
means to you.

21. Create a single PowerPoint slide or
drawing/photo that captures you.

22. “Inner cowboy adrift on literate shores”

23. “Seeking home, balance outside a turbulent world”

24. What if you could interview yourself?
A few questions to get you thinking about your genuine voice…

25. Questions

“You Would Never Know
This by Looking at Me, But…”

26. Questions

“I tend to present the
illusion that…”

27. Questions

“The thing that I’m most
proud to have written is…”

28. Questions

”I struggle with…”

29. Final Question

”I’m happiest when..”

30. Story


31. Basics of Story

 Dilemma
 Inciting Incident
 Conflict & Obstacles
 Resolution
Stories are always about transformation – for the
characters and the reader

32. Charlie Rose
Exercise

33. Stories are
cyclical,
not linear
Beginning
Middle
End

34. Exercise

Think about either a project that
you want to do or a recent blog
post and apply the concept of
cyclical story line to it. How would
it change? What are the plot
points?

35. Writing in Scenes - StoryBoard
Write a storyboard a paragraph. What happens? Who’s talking? What do you want
the reader to envision? (Stick figures at OK!)

36. Marry Your Voice & Story

Humor + Food + 20something perspective
will yield a very different story than…
Practial + Food + Southern Lady (think
Paula Deen)

37. Big Cat in the Kitchen
Thinking of your answers and your six-word memoir, how would you write a story
about a great cat in your kitchen?

38. “Crutches”

It takes a lot to pass the Who Cares Test when you rely on
food writing’s most overused compositional crutches:
 The Grandmother/mother reference
 The Weather report
(“It’s (spring, summer) so it’s time for (asparagus, peaches)”
 The farmer’s market
(“I went to the farmer’s market and got some peaches..”)
 Stating the obvious.

39. Recap

 Remember: YOU ARE AWESOME
Avoid imitation, focus on innovation & voice
 Story is about Transformation, Dilemma and Conflict
 Writing is a an Act of Courage
 Story is Cyclical
 Be a Child. Be Fearless.

40. - The Hunger Games