I like to think that most people love their Grandmas. I sure loved mine.
My Nanny on my dad’s side was an amazing knitter. She made me sweaters, loomed fabric and kicked butt at anything to do with textiles. My other Grandma could cook. Seriously cook. And she had a very special gift of gab that made kitchen time hilarious and intense.
In fact she used to say some of the most unforgettable things, and when she said them, I’d nod and “mmm-hmm” and then let her do her thing. Then I would think about it and it would hit me like a ton of bricks.
One thing she told me about friendship was that “If you try to be everything to everybody, you’ll just end up being nuthin’ to nobody.”
And she had even more things to say about cooking. And cooking translated to just about everything else in the world, especially writing.
So here are my Grandmother’s top cooking tips for writing your best—whether you’re writing a blog, an article, a listing, an email or a bio.
1. “Keep a pantry of the best ingredients you can afford.”
Keeping a good pantry is one of the great secrets to delicious cooking. Even with the world’s best technique, without great ingredients, you will seldom create masterful meals. In the writing world, the same is true. What makes for great writing is great ideas honed with great technique. Ideas are often the start point from which any person’s best stuff comes from, whether that a blog post, an article or a listing to attract the right buyer. Keeping an idea log or a notebook is akin to keeping a pantry of your best ingredients. Jot down things people say, things you see and read or even activities you observe. I also keep my iPhone handy in the case I see images worthy of storing for later.
2. “Make what people will find tasty.”
So often I heard this from my grandmother when I tried to fashion some weird thing in order to impress her. Nope. It was a failure. Such is the same in marketing—and yes, all writing is marketing to a degree. Give people what they want or need to know. Don’t try to brag about how amazing your results are—no one really wants to hear you brag. Show them what you will do for them. Eventually, you will figure out that people often love the same types of posts and articles that answer similar questions because these problems don’t tend to go away. Keep this in mind, as there are limitless ways to express yourself—even when talking about similar things!
3. “Stick to the classics… and work up from there.”
Master the art of searing a steak, stewing chicken and roasting potatoes. Get the fundamentals down by learning from the masters in their books, and then stretch out into new territory. In one writing class I took, we had to learn the art of imitation. Emulating your favourite writers and marketers can help you develop good technique. You don’t have to copy them word for word, but look at what they do that impresses you, and try to mirror that in what you do.
4. “Always let the meat rest.”
The same basic action that makes for juicier meat also makes for better flavour in curries, sauces and marinades. So does the best work. The magic action is rest. Give some time between when you write from when you edit. Divide the writing/development time from the editing/critical review time. There is nothing uglier than wearing two hats at the same time.
But if you got something hot enough that deserves to just go up right away, by all means, go for it! Just don’t make a habit of it, or it may come back to haunt you.
5. “Never polish a piece of crap.”
Grandmother was never a fan of puffery. (Puff pastry, however was a specialty.) She hated the idea that people would dress up a dish that didn’t have enough to make it worthy of the presentation. And when it comes to writing, some of what we see in the market is useful material presented inconsistently: Long passages of text, no bullet points, no images or decent formatting. It winds up looking dull and it doesn’t get read. Conversely, we see useless puffery about a with all the razzle dazzle of Cinderella’s sisters at the ball. Whatever you create, keep the look and layout consistent with what you are saying.
6. “When you make something great, make sure the name sticks.”
Grandma was always one for keeping an original idea original. She had a million expressions that can directly be credited to her. The few times I made something noteworthy, and truly original, we took a few minutes to try coming up with the best name we could.
The same can be said for writing. You need a catchy headline to be sure that people are drawn in. It’s not enough to have a headline describe the blog; it needs to challenge the audience. A funny one might have a bit of sarcasm, a cautionary tale might need something or sensational…”or else your blog post will totally fail!” (See what I did there?)
7. “Do right by what’s in front of you.”
One of the hardest things about cooking is knowing when to grab the recipe book and follow it to the letter and when to cook based on the ingredients in front of me. After a while, Grandma would suggest I choose based on what the ingredients required. When it comes to writing, focus on what’s in front of you and apply the right approach to the type of writing you’re doing. If you have to, look to other blogs, articles or pieces of writing that are effective and start there. But ultimately, over time you will figure out how to put the right pieces together on your own terms.
8. “If you love it, do it. If you hate it, get through it.”
I never fully understood this expression. Frankly, none of family figured out how to break it down. My best guess was that if I loved what I do, my chances of having to face unsavoury tasks were high, but I should never let them phase me. Keep enjoying it by thinking bigger. And I won’t lie. I never was a fan of editing. I just love to write—All. The. Time. But editing is an inseparable part of writing, so it has to be done, and it has to be done on time. So guess what? I do it. And I smile about it because the sooner it’s done (and done well), the sooner I can be writing again.
My Grandma always tried to impart her wisdom no matter my age. Perhaps it was because I’m the oldest sibling, perhaps because I asked the most questions, even in my thirties. It didn’t matter because she and I loved every minute of it.
Sadly, she passed away three years ago this coming March, but the family still gets together and talks about her timeless expressions and aphorisms about cooking, living and being true to yourself. The ones we can’t explain are the ones we usually start with, and laughter takes over!
So please accept these gifts from my grandmother. They’re gems for cooking and creating, but they’re also things we can keep close to us to remind us how to live authentically, just like she did for 71 amazing years. Good luck to you!
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