Okay. So this isn’t a chocolate post. This isn’t a cookie post, and I’m sorry for that. This isn’t even a no-bake vegan salted chocolate chunk oat bars made from heaven post, though my hand is crammed into a bowl of them as I type.
This is a writing post and I am dancing a little jig around my computer because I love lurve love talking about writing. It may be one of my favorite things in the world after eating peanut butter from the jar with a spoon while binge watching Sailor Moon episodes like I’ve been doing for the past two weeks.
What is the Writing Process Blog Tour?
It’s basically a knee-slappin’ good excuse for me–a blogger–to share how I write (duh) what I write (duh) and why I write it (triple duh!).
Ever wonder what my food of choice is when I’m toiling away over a midnight post?
Ever consider the fact that I’m naturally a lot fonder of writing than I ever was of baking? (Don’t worry, I’ll explain!)
Ever ask yourself, What in the name of holy huckleberries does that girl put in her brownies, because her last post was so wacked out, she must be on something!
Yeah, welcome to my life 🙂
This is an especial treat for me because as you may know, I have always been a writer first and baker second, so any excuse to share a little piece of my dark writing corner with all of you is good enough for me! I was nominated by the uber, ultra-talented and super-sweet Kelly from Life Made Sweeter. Thanks, girl! And you can read her own Writing Process Blog Tour Post here.
So sit back, relax, enjoy the food porn I’m including for funsies, and read on!
1. What am I working on?
Oh, oodles of things! At the moment, my biggest venture is my brand new Etsy shop, where I’ve started selling my favorite, most popular snacks to readers, friends, & anyone living in the US. (Sorry, my international friends!) Thankfully, I have been just busy enough with orders to keep me on my toes without going bat crazy–and I am (of course) in the kitchen most days testing new, never-before-shared recipes that I will introduce to the store on the 1st of each month. If you’re interested in receiving updates about my new monthly/seasonal items, you can always favorite my shop here!
Aside from that, I’ve been spending a lot more time lately working with some exciting brands and companies I’ll be introducing in the coming months: working out contracts, getting free samples, taste-testing delicious food, trying out new ingredients–the works. It’s a tough life, being a food blogger, and don’t you know it.
My third project is long-term: WG has experienced some amazing growth in the past 4 months alone (since I started getting a handle on updating social media daily, publishing regular blog posts, joining #SundaySuppers, and growing comfortable with my blogging voice, which is far from stellar but is exactly what it would be like if you suddenly found yourself standing in a room next to me). These days, I’m continually reaching out to new bloggers and establishing awesome friendships along the way, so say hi–I promise I won’t bite! (Unless you happen to be holding a fudgy chocolate cupcake in your hand, in which case…tough cookies.)
Finally, I am working on developing willpower. Willpower around food, willpower around my baked treats, willpower around Sailor Moon, willpower around life.
It is not working.
2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?
In a weird way, my readers come for the recipes and stay for the writing. Not necessarily typical of food blogging, is it?
I am strangely unconcerned with consistency when it comes to talking about my food. Any reader looking for an over-the-top description of the amazing recipe I’m about to share, laden with phrases like “gooey” and “delicious” and “the best cookie I’ve ever made” and “IT’S LIKE THE FREAKIN’ HUNGER GAMES BUT IN MY MOUTH,” is in for a colossal disappointment. That kind of writing doesn’t take center stage in my posts because frankly, I find it a bit redundant, yawn-worthy, whatever. (Well, maybe that last phrase about the Hunger Games, because I do write that way pretty often. #sorrynotsorry)
My motto pretty much sums it up: “Half-baked thoughts on grad student life, served with a side of fully-baked recipes.” My mission in blogging is to spread smiles, get you giggling, charm some chuckles, and serve up a damned good recipe in the process. And if it takes some really random ranting about the obnoxious grunting men who lift 220-pound barbells at the gym--you know the ones–then yeah, I’ll probably share it with you, even if it has zero connection with the fudgy brownies I’ve just photographed.
So my “work” differs because it’s basically one huge pile of TMI and word vomit in the guise of a baking blog, and I love my mutated blog baby all the more for it.
Also, just in case you started worrying after reading all that, the recipes I share are tested like crazy and anything I decide to share on here is the shiz. So yeah–I like that, too!
3. Why do I write what I do?
Because keeping a diary got really lonely after a while? “Dear Diary, So I hope nobody 200 years from now finds this absolutely private piece of written artifact and publishes it in a history textbook, but let me tell you about this embarrassing thing that happened today with this guy…”
Just kidding–I blog because it really does keep me sane to write about grad school worries, baking discoveries, funny encounters, and everything else anyone might ever bother wanting (or not wanting) to read about. It also keeps my creative side sharp and my friends’ tummies happy, so that’s an added plus.
Also, smiles make global warming go away. Wiki it, I’m pretty sure that’s a true statement 🙂
4. How does my writing process work?
Process. HAH.
Maybe 4 years ago, when I was in my creative writing heyday and completely obsessed with publishing the next Great American Novel, I would read all the writing how-to’s books and try every trick that would boost me to writing fame. 6 AM writing stints, daily freewriting exercises, and a plethora of fanfiction stories with a pretty substantial fan following.
These days, with a highly regimented timetable based on my work, research, and teaching as a grad student, the “process” is squeezing in every crumb and sentence I can before dawn peeks through my window, on late nights when I’m not desperately trying to finish writing a paper or grading. Case in point, it’s 2:10 AM and I’m typing this up because a) I finished my teaching for the week this afternoon, and b) I’m like a demon possessed when it comes to writing. And usually I’ll be wielding a spoon loaded with a giant dollop of peanut butter, which I’ll stuff into my mouth every 10 seconds or so when I need to free up both hands to type.
But yes, the process is a myth. I bake, re-bake, photograph, write, share on social media–sometimes in that order, and sometimes while cursing my neighbors next door who are blasting Blink 182, and sometimes while playing the entire Frozen soundtrack on repeat on my computer. The only thing that stays the same about my writing process is that I actually truly and ridiculously love it every time, so when I’m done editing photos and messing up my kitchen, usually I turn on my computer and do a little jig before I start typing.
Tour Nominees
And now, to pass along the metaphoric baton of this tour…I’m nominating:
Nancy from Gotta Get Baked: Have you met this girl yet? She is WONDERWOMAN, except a whole lot nicer and a probably damned better writer by a mile and a half. I am dying to see what she would have to say about her writing process, because she’d probably have a lot more interesting things to say than I did. Ha!
Cynthia from Two Red Bowls: She’s a darn busy girl with a whole lot of blog achievements under her belt, so this blog tour might take back-burner for her, but she deserves a shout-out for being one of the bloggers whose writing I admire most. I’m usually so immersed in reading her posts, I’ll forget to do normal people stuff like blink and breathe. It’s kind of a problem, actually, but a wonderful problem that I know I’d love to hear more about.
Uru from Go Bake Yourself: This. Girl. Is. Insane. I have actually fallen off my chair laughing at the kinds of stuff she writes about–and let me tell you now, she writes about everything in this crazy unique style that reminds you of Virginia Woolf’s stream of consciousness but with a heckuva lot more attitude and finesse! It makes absolutely 100% sense to nominate her here!
Okay, it’s been a long day filled with lesson planning and teaching and swimming and then writing this post, so I’m done for now (and it’s only 2:30 AM? Precious me). Want to know something else about my writing process that I didn’t cover here today? Ask me in the comments! (Seriously, I love talking about it…in case you haven’t noticed.)
I love this!! It’s always so fun to hear the background behind why other people blog and how they go about it. And i appreciate your TMI word vomit for what it’s worth. I follow pretty much the same “process”. 😛
Pahaha I love our processes–I do feel like they’re pretty darn similar. Of course, I’m also a huge fan of your writing, so there you have it 😀 thanks for those sweet words, Joanne! Happy Friday to us!
Fun post. Always interesting to read how others create. And you’re a good writer. In my case, whatever I write, I throw half of it away, then rewrite the rest like crazy. 🙂
I was going to ask! I’m totally the same way–I have this random word doc with pages upon pages of “junk” material I deleted from my post but don’t want to do away with completely. Glad you had fun reading, John!
This is such a fun topic to read about! Creative writing is my first love and I also used to spend a exorbitant amount of time reading “writer’s craft” books, so I know what you mean by not having enough time to polish off a blog post.
But I think you’re onto something… writing and compulsively snacking is the best kind of writing process. 🙂 Chewing on a cake crumb gives us time to think, right?
PS. that heart brownie is the cutest.
Daw! Myriam, what do you study at uni? Are you a writing type, too? 🙂 I just saw that you’re from HK as well. So awesome!! Yay for the little things you learn. And yes, I have my spoon in a jar of cookie butter as I type this…guess bad habits are hard to break, especially at 1:30 AM. Oops! Have a loverly day, gal!
Ala, I love you, girl! Thanks for nominating me. I’ll do you proud (or at least I’ll try to!). I loved everything about this post but then again, you’re one of my favourite bloggers so that doesn’t surprise me. You always entertain, make me think, make me glad about life and make me drool. In other words, I’ve got a big ol’ smile pasted to my face right now. I’m so proud of you for everything you’re accomplishing with school, work and blogging. I seriously don’t know how you do it all. And you must be insanely busy baking for your Etsy shop, especially how delicious your offerings are.
Whoo! You’ll do me proud no matter what (as I sing your eternal praises here and la la la), you’re one hilarious spunky gal. Things have been busy, but just enough to keep me on my toes and a little anxious! Nothing too serious–er, hopefully, because I really have been binge-watching Sailor Moon for about two weeks now. Oops. Have you seen the new episodes of Crystal on Hulu? lollll I can’t. Stop. Watching. ANYWAY. Yay and I can’t wait to see your writing post! I am DYING with curiosity!
Oh my gosh, Ala, have you been watching the new Sailor Moon? I tried watching on a Hulu when it first came out but the quality wasn’t so great and I haven’t had a chance to revisit it! And you know what? Major confession, I took Japanese language classes in middle school so I could read the back of my Sailor Moon cards. Luckily, I loved the language enough to stay with it through college. But still! Can you imagine how ridic that sounds? I learned a language for Sailor Moon.
Anyways, I was never an English major (always a science one), but I love writing too! Mine were usually oriented towards fantasies and murder mysteries, not the next Great American novel. lol.
I blog about food, but sometimes I wonder if it’s not secretly a diary where I can vent. Strangely, I’m mostly a private person. I don’t even like to share on my personal Facebook page. But when it comes to blogging. Sheesh. I feel like I have to reread to make sure I don’t over share. lol.
Oh, and there’s nothing wrong with playing the Frozen soundtrack on repeat. I may have overdone it with “Let it Go” =)
HAHAHA. Andrea, if I didn’t love you already (and I do), I love you a million times over now. I *totally* did the same thing–I took just a semester of Japanese in college but with the aim of watching some more PGSM (the live-action version? have you seen it? omg it’s so bad but SOOOOOO good! That Mamoru is smexy smolder type!). Have you been watching Crystal? Can we please talk about it together because a) that last episode was REALLY GOOD (I didn’t like the first few that much though, sadly), and b) I only have like, two other friends who can share the feelz with me. So shoot me an email/text/something when you do watch so we can chat 🙂 Also (so many things to discuss lol) I totally view this as my open diary, and everyone is my unsuspecting victim. Probably the only things I don’t talk about here involve other people who might be reading or boys. haha. I guess that’s why I love reading yours so much! OKAY I BETTER STOP. But send me an email when you get to watch okay?!
Okay, so I thought I clicked the Notify me of follow-up comments by email, but apparently I didn’t. So I’ve been missing all your responses, and now I’m trying to figure out which ones I commented on to read your reply! lol. I haven’t watched Crystal, but that’s because when I tried the first time, my Internet was being annoyingly slow. And I have to admit that I was a little hesitant since I wasn’t sure how good the remake would be. But since you said it’s good, I’ll definitely be watching it. And probably writing a post at the same time. I haven’t watched anime in so long! I’ll let you know what I think!
Okay, I wasn’t going to reply to ALL your comments BUT this is super important SO…I just watched Episode 9 tonight (they release one episode every two weeks). I do have to say that the first few are really slow and take getting used to–I didn’t start really loving it until maybe Episode 7, when I’d gotten acclimated. The good news is that they’re quick to watch, so you’ll get to 7 in no time. The bad news is that once you get there, you’re going to dread getting to 9 because then you’re going to have to wait reaaaallly long before the next episode. So. 😉 we should totally watch together, just saying…
I seriously loved reading this! The writing process blog tour is such a fab idea, it really gives others a chance to relate to you! I love all of the little quirks you describe, and I TOTALLY empathize with the busy student life. Catching up with responsibilities is a constant state of existence for me…But I am so glad that I have finally found your blog, and I look forward to checking back again lots and lots! 🙂 And haha, I am also a “baker second” – my blog began as an outlet for photography and writing and basically the musings of life…Baking is just another skill that I thought would be great to develop simultaneously and produce some hardcore food porn out of it! Lots of love x
Tash, I loved reading your comment and I am totally thrilled to be meeting you! I took a quick peek at your blog and adore what I see (those cookie dough sandwiches–say what! You’re on the nail with this whole #foodporn thing!). Added you to my feed so we can be sure to keep connected, though I’m sooo excited that I’ll get to see you around here as well–how did you find me? 🙂 however it was, I’m super glad you did! Sounds like you’re a fellow student so we’ll have to do a lot of commiserating, hehe. Cheers, Tash!
Yay, loved reading this post and all your behind the scenes girl! So proud of everything that you have accomplished so far and glad that you started a blog so that you get to share all of your awesomeness with us now!
And meeting you has been just a crazy awesome perk, so give yourself some credit for that one too, Kelly! Sending awesome vibes your way, girl!
Your such a great writer, Ala. I really enjoyed reading this post…your personality shines in all you do!!
Lora, you are so incredibly sweet! Thank you thank you thank you! I’m so glad you enjoyed reading it <3
LOL word vomit is ACTUALLY my way of writing but hey, what works works no? Your writing is brilliant, it is enticing and enjoyable and then with your photos, I literally just fall in love! Keep doing what you do girl, you rock my socks always!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
DAWW you are absolutely fabulous, Uru, and I’m so looking forward to seeing what you write if and when (hopefully when!) you write about your own process. I’m falling in love with your writing every day too!
Ala I loved reading about your writing! I’m totally with you, I blog because it’s a lot more fun than diary-keeping. And check you out with your Etsy shop!! Rock it sista!
Speaking of rocking, your comment rocked my day, Karen! Totally totally. This is the best type of diary-keeping in the world. Happy Friday, girl!
You are indeed a brilliant writer and baker, Ala! As is the ever witty and wonderful Nancy of Gotta Get Baked =)
Yes! I totally agree. Thanks so much, lady! Have a great Friday and weekend!
Oh my gosh! I’ve just been catching up on your posts lately (and getting seriously immersed in all of them) and just now saw this — AAAHhhh thank you so so much for your kind words, Ala!!! Can I hug you through the screen?! They mean so much. I loveeeeee love reading about other people’s writing processes (mine is pretty boring and sometimes resembles pulling teeth) and it makes my heart so full to know that there are lovely people out there like you who do happy-jigs when it’s time to write. I need to channel some of that when I’m feeling uninspired 🙂 High-five to a fellow English/writing lover! Writing was my very first love before cooking or photography or anything else, so this post is seriously so wonderful. Thank you for sharing, lady! And thank you again for the nomination and making my day <3
Dawwwwww can I hug YOU?! You’re such a crazy busy wonderful blogger that I’m always like “eeeeee” when I see your comments pop up on my dashboard. I think all of our writing processes sound pretty boring to ourselves and weirdly amazing to other people–even my happy jigs are like, “Okay, I did my happy jig! Moving on.” Hahaha. I wonder if this is how celebs feel about their glam lives…Anyway, SO glad I could return the favor (retrospectively) because you made my day as well. High-five to my English brethren!!