This is a guest post by Sarah E. Hoffman about stretching your zine writing into new genres. Sarah is a zinester, blogger, academic and gastronomist. She
enjoys picnics, the smell of freshly baked bread and bobo tea. When stressed she
bakes until the flour runs out. Sarah is married to a very understanding
non-foodie, whom she is in the process of converting. Find her @Sarah999 or http://wingedsnail99.blogspot.com.
image via http://bit.ly/Xfqmi0 |
I used to have a variety
of hobbies and interests but in the last five years I have become a person that
has only one hobby. My hobby has permeated every aspect of my life and has
become the lenses through which I approach every topic. My life is all food,
all the time. However, this does not mean that I only write about carrots. I
write about lessons, history, movement, surprise, and a variety of other topics.
The following is an articulation of the process that I use to approach a writing
prompt that does not strictly fall within the category of food.
Don't make
assumptions. Your readers won't storm off in a huff if you write about
something that is different from what you usually write about. Would you?
Keep your voice.
Consistently writing in a unique voice can be the thread that ties all of your
writing together.
Stretch. Find a
call for submission that is the antithesis of your chosen topic and write a
piece for it.
Brainstorm. Give
each call for submission careful consideration. There is usually a way to write
about your area while respecting the guidelines of the zine.
Make mistakes. It
is acceptable to give up on a submission because the topic is too disparate from
your area of interest.
Following this framework
has the potential to make your contribution unique. For example, the expected
contributions on the topic of red velvet cake would include family traditions,
recipes, and birthday cake memories. The submission that results from combining
robots and red velvet cake or bats and red velvet cake would be unique. If you
write about the prompt through the lenses of a particular topic you will be
remembered. Isn't that what we all strive for?
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