Writing Process Blog Tour

Wait… this isn’t a recipe!

Don’t worry, it’s just as good. Or maybe I’m just saying that because I get to talk about myself for a while.

What exactly will I be rambling about? Behind-the-scenes info on how my blog runs! Recipe development, food photography, and of course cooking & baking do take quite a bit of work, and I can’t wait to delve into how I manage everything (and how fun it is!).

I’d like to thank Mir from Just About Baked for nominating me to do this tag! Her own post is amazing, be sure to check it out along with all the recipes. My all-time fave dessert off Mir’s blog is this vegan cake. It’s super rich and I’ve made it as cupcakes and in both a loaf pan and an 8-inch. Yeah, I’m a fan 🙂

So without further ado, let’s jump right in!

1) What am I working on now?

Recipe-wise, I’m trying to pack as many pumpkin recipes onto this blog as I possibly can before fall runs out 🙂 I’m also experimenting with other fall flavors such as chai, apples, and caramel. In addition, I’ve started some Christmas baking already, because I know I’ll be flooded with a ton of ideas the moment Thanksgiving ends!

I’m also definitely trying to improve my food photography. Working with an iPhone is a pleasant challenge, but it’s not the quality that necessarily needs more focus, it’s more the arrangement and food styling. Action shots are something I want to get better at in the future, especially when some attempts end up like this:

 

Something I’ve learned is that changes come slowly. I’m not going to become an amazing photographer, stylist, or blogger overnight. But I can see myself slowly improving and becoming more inventive, so it’s an exciting journey to be part of.

2) How does my work differ from others of its genre?

Besides the obvious “100% vegan!” sticker I’ve plastered on my blog, I think what’s pretty unique about Whisk & Shout is that everything is fairly simple to make.

As a seventeen year old, I am nowhere near a baking or cooking master. I’ve really only been going off-book for a year or so, and I have so much to learn. Because of my relative inexperience, my recipes and stories are honestly pretty relatable to an audience beyond just food bloggers.

I love hearing that my friends have successfully tried out my recipes because that means I’m putting out something that people can use. It’s exciting to have a tangible impact outside of words or pictures on a screen.

That being said, taking more traditional recipes that involve lots of butter, milk, or eggs, and vegan-izing them is fun for me (because I can eat them!) and also helpful for vegans who don’t want to sulkily eat 95% cocoa dark chocolate for dessert every night.

Why do I write what I do?

This is tricky! It seriously depends on the recipe.

Some recipes have a story behind them. Writing is easy and natural when there’s a history as to why I love a certain cuisine or how I came up with a particular idea. Other recipes are more cut and dry, and harder to spin tales about.

When a recipe is simply a recipe, I prefer to be concise and genuine, rather than tell an epic about a salad that I really only made because I figured the ingredients would work. For those types of posts, I like to highlight the ingredients I chose, because most everything I eat is fairly healthy, and knowing the nutritional benefits of what you’re consuming is important.

How does my writing process work?

I sit down and I write.

It’s as easy as that. I love blogging, and I haven’t gotten to point yet where I cannot muster up the inspiration to write a blog post. So for the moment, just sitting at my laptop, looking over the pictures and thinking about my food inspiration and the taste of the dish is enough for me to write a post that I’m happy with.

Personally, if I’ve got the pictures and the recipe, but I can’t write a focused commentary on the food, it probably isn’t something that should be on the site.

Writing is probably my favorite part of blogging, and even if I don’t have much to discuss about the food itself, I always have a ton to say about myself and my life 🙂

My Nomination

• I’d love to nominate Consuelo from Honey & Figs. For someone practically my age, Consuelo has it together! She’s hilarious and her photography is always gorgeous. I’m making this vegan pizza later this week for dinner and I cannot wait! Consuelo’s vegan recipes always have a way of making you forget there’s no dairy 🙂

That’s all from me, folks! Have a great weekend and I hope you learned a little bit more about how Whisk & Shout operates 🙂

xx