Booking the Cooks and Other Writing Advice

I follow Juliette Wade's blog TalkToYoUniverse and she is a gem. A constant wealth of knowledge, experience, inspiration, wisdom, and encouragement. And no, I don't know her personally. But that's the awesomeness of it all. Being a blogger, you don't have to meet and shake hands and make awkward smalltalk and remember to send insipid holiday cards. You just find each other, and WHAMMO! you share common interest, exchange supportive words and you're off and running.

To those would-be writers and blogging hemmers and hawwers (one or two Ws in that?), just give it a go. You won't become famous overnight, you may not be saying anything staggeringly original, but the plain fact is you're at least saying it. For a while it may seem like a futile effort of talking to yourself, that no one is listening or cares. But there really is a sense of liberation when you put yourself out there. And best yet is when you grow your network of like-minded readers and writers. Soon you'll start getting comments and exchanging emails and ideas with folks half a world away. Trust me, it ROCKS! I have chatted with folks on both coasts of the US and places in between, Australia, Germany, and Malta. We're all creativity junkies, geeks, artists, writers, builders, and most of all bloggers. So like I said, give it a go.

Circling back around to Juliette and holidays, in the spirit of Thanksgiving and with writing wisdom (as usual), she had this to say.

Easy As Pie?

Because she typically gets a lot of comments, I thought I'd share mine here so you can see the kind of return you get from faithful readers when you offer up your snow globe for a giddy shake. 

My comment:
Nice allegory :) If someone unfamiliar with writing and the process thereof were to stumble across this post they might think "why the hell is she talking about cooking?" They may completely miss the point that reading, research, and practice make perfect. For instance, I make a mean lasagna. Meat, veggie, cheese, whatever, it's delicious - everyone tells me so. But how did I ever learn to make such deliciousness? Simple. It wasn't. I started with a recipe and without a clue. Over the years I learned what works and what doesn't. Now I just do it by memory. I don't even have to think about it.
It's the same with writing, the EXACT same! Learn what flavors you like, shop for ingredients, read a lot of cookbooks/recipes, and try it out. If it doesn't work...try it again. If it tastes horrid...try adding nutmeg ;) What I'm saying without saying is research, practice, and don't give up. Oh, and watch out for those with peanut or gluten allergies.