On Improving Foodblogging . . .

While it seems more fitting for a New Year resolution, or even a birthday self-promise (and is it really coming that soon?!), I figure now's a good time as any to reinforce my resolve to be a better blogger . . . specifically, to improve my writing.

Yes, my photo taking/editing skills need some major polishing up as well and I will work on that too, but my true passion lies in the written text. From that perfectly chosen word to the carefully structured sentences and the concisely crafted paragraphs and tales, those are aspects that lingers, that enchants, that haunts me. "Food porn"/gastroerotica/well-shot food photos are nice to look at, but they are temporary and fleeting, albeit drool-inducing, images in my mind; the articles and blogposts I remember best are the wonderfully-penned ones that are richly descriptive and simply succinct, opinionated without being overbearing and easily approachable while still imparting that secret nugget of knowledge or insight that I, as a reader, so crave for.

Of course, I can't guarantee that every post henceforth will be a canon-worthy work of writing, and there'll probably still be pieces that read like the sh*tty first draft due to time constraints, shoddy self-editing, etc., but I will definitely make a concerted effort to do more than just "I ate/drank this and it was good/bad" and hopefully paint as good a picture so that you, my readers, fans and supporters, can truly relate to how I feel at the restaurant, bar or event.

Additionally, I'll be devoting more time to feeding my voracious reading appetite, but with a more careful eye to "what makes this piece of writing work/bomb?" (wow, flashback from all my creative writing / journalism workshop sessions!) This applies not only to food-related articles but to everything I read, even fiction, since good writing translates across all platforms and who knows what inspiration or lessons are buried within the pages.

Likewise, given that I'll be focusing more on the "steak" of good writing, I'll pay less attention to the "sizzle" of promotion, namely, cross-posting my blog entries on message boards, social review sites, etc. I won't be a hermit and will still visit and contribute where relevant, but simply put, I'm going back to the basics and primarily blogging here. And everyone knows that good steak is best on the rarer side and without too much sizzle.

If nothing else, it's definitely a great refresher course for all the writing and journalism classes I took in college and graduate school, and decent practice should I ever choose to dive back into that crazy world of freelance writing again. Besides, that Strunk & White's The Elements of Style and John Trimble's Writing with Style, amongst others, have been sitting on my bookshelf yearning to be revisited, and like my resolution - what better time than now?

Hope you and I will enjoy what's to come even more . . .