Do you want to write more in 2019? Are you also food-obsessed?
Then join me for #FoodFictionFriday, a fun, social-media-based way to kickstart your writing and practice techniques that use food as a lens into our world.
This program is loosely based on a famous class I took at Yale called Daily Themes. Every week, we explored a different writing tool including perspective, dialogue, lists, and endings. Whatever the assignment, the main goals were always the same:
Show, don’t tell
Activate your full arsenal beyond plot and straightforward description
Consider the negative space -- everything you don’t mention
We’ll focus on food as both a topic and literary device. We know that food is more than just ingredients. Food writing isn’t just about the juiciness of the steak, or the swiftness of a whisk. Food can also be about power. Lust. Love. Food is memory, war, a conversation, fantasy … you get the point.
Every Monday, I’ll post that week’s prompt. On Friday, post your work with #FoodFictionFriday and tag me at @jessica_tom on Instagram or Twitter. The first assignment will be posted on January 1st to get the year started off right!
You’re also welcome to keep your writing private, but I encourage you to share when you’re ready. You’ll get feedback from me and perhaps others participating in #FoodFictionFriday, and you’ll also get in the habit of releasing your writing into the world -- a must if you want to grow as an artist.
Give it a try even if you don’t consider yourself a writer. This is for anyone who is interested in the many facets of food -- not just how to cook, eat, and ‘gram it… but how to harness everything food means to us.
I’ll post the prompts and tips on Instagram, but check here for more inspiration and pointers. Can’t wait to read your work!