Fun With Foodies

I got an e-mail today from my editor at The Gazette, who has been working diligently to come up with new and exciting ideas for the county's beloved daily. The arts and entertainment section is therefore going to focus on food every Tuesday, and I was asked if I'd like to do a column. A column.

It isn't a real column, at least not in the way it's generally described. I don't get to rant about food or vegetable growing or how very aggravating it is to see the same chain restaurants everywhere. Instead, it appears that I'll be interviewing local people (including the occasional restaurant chef) about their cooking experiences and favorite recipes - my main contribution will be fun little intros to frame the pieces, as well as hunting down local types to interview. This will, of course, involve actual research - as much fun as it would be to leap out from behind endcaps at the local grocery store for ambush interviews ("CITIZEN! IN THE NAME OF JOURNALISM, DIVULGE THE COMPONENTS OF YOUR EVENING MEAL!") I'm not sure that technique would go over well with such a family-friendly publication. The local alt-weekly, maybe, but not our sweet little daily.

Of course, there's always the danger that my tenure with the food section may eventually involve me reviewing restaurants, which could indeed be the death of me. What with the day job keeping me literally tethered to my desk for eight hours, I'm not getting much exercise these days. I'm told I could get up early to work out, but I still have trouble with that. I'm very much a night owl (though it'll be a while before I can nerd by buying this car and naming it Archie¹), so I'd rather work out at 11:00 p.m. than 8:00 a.m. Of course, the way things are looking, I may well have to physically engage both early and late - I loathe the way I feel and look these days, and if my future involves rich meals on the cheap (or free!), I'm gonna have to pull out every stop I have. There's a real possibilty that they'll be rolling me in and out otherwise.

Maybe it's time to consider that non-fiction book idea I had. I call it, "Results Not Typical," and it'd follow me for a year as I tried every fad diet, trendy exercise routine and diet pill available. Hey, what's the worst that could happen?



¹I don't care what anyone says - to me, it looks like your friendly neighborhood owlship. It's also the closest I'll ever get to owning transport that awesome.

Though it's the sort of thing that may make people's eyes roll back into their skulls, my biggest thrill of the day was sending in my application for the Kiplinger Program in Public Affairs Journalism. I got some very fantastic letters of recommendation from former colleagues - one nearly made me cry - and did my best to explain why the program should sponsor my project idea. Hopefully the judging panel will be as enthusiastic about it as the post office patrons were; it's sort of gratifying to have a stranger tell you that "you seem to have it together" when you're standing in line wearing an old T-shirt, sweatpants and mud-caked sneakers, makeup-less and soaked after a speed gardening session. (Rain or no, some harvesting was vital - the recent rains around here have caused my plants to go a little crazy.)

Poor Big Mean Flash Gamer. I do hope he knows what he's getting himself into.

Now that the application is out of the way, it's time for me to start tackling other projects, including another story for the local paper and a follow-up with The Herb Companion to see if they'd like to use a story I pitched a while back. My recent freelancing course has really given me a kick in the pants when it comes to writing and pitching more, so I'd like to put that knowledge to use and get back in the game. As Big Mean Flash Gamer gently reminded me, the best way to be a writer is, well, to write. I've been freaking out way too much as of late about finding a new full time gig, and it won't do me any good to have an anemic portfolio if (when?) that big interview comes around. I've also got some ideas for a number of regional publications, including Ohio Magazine and Midwest Living, that need to get committed to paper at some point.

Just like those ideas I have for a steampunk novel. Or comic book. Or something. Whatever works, really. I'll have to see what shapes up for it.

But for now, bed. Never enough hours in a day, I tell you.

(Crossposted to Life on the Margins - LiveJournal Edition.)

Busy Busy

It's been a bit since I last updated, but I can at least say it's been due to busyness* and not apathy.

-I've started taking an online writing course. The latest assignment is to write five story pitches and, well, pitch them. It's due on Tuesday, but I'll have to let the teacher know I've run into a bit of a snag with regards to getting my sources lined up in advance. It seems that there's this "holiday weekend" thing that all the kids are wild about, so I haven't been able to speak with some of these people. Hopefully I'll have more luck next week, after which I can actually pitch the articles to actual editors who will accept my ideas and pay me actual money. Money's always fun.

-I'm working on another story for The Gazette, this one about a local teacher who was involved in Project Dragonfly. I interviewed the teacher today, and she was very enthusiastic. I look forward to writing the story and helping her educate the community about this program. More people should know about it.

-One of my friends is working on a website for our 10 Year High School Reunion, and he wants me to help him out by writing the copy for it. This is harder than it sounds, especially since my initial pitch for the splash page was rejected.^ I need to dedicate some part of my brain to coming up with acceptable content, though I have yet to determine which part.

So that, on top of the day job, is what's keeping me hopping now. Somewhere in all of this, I also need to get more job applications knocked out. Someone out there must need a writer, and I intend to find out who.


*No, it's not a typo.

^"Hey! Do you want to relive four years of teenage angst while drinking with people toward whom you feel either ambivalence or open hostility? Then come to the __________ High School Reunion for the Class of ______!"