Brooke Burton of Foodwoolf puts her food writing chops to use.

Yesterday at breakfast here at Club Med Ixtapa Food Blogger Camp, I cast around for the perfect food on which to base a food writing exercise using all the senses.

(You remember which senses I mean, right? Let’s review:

• Touch
• Taste
• Sound
• Sight
• Smell.)

Then I saw individual boxes of Kellogg’s Corn Pops at the cereal station. Perfect! They would trigger childhood memories, make us laugh, or inspire rants about their sticky sugariness. I could use them to discuss food writing techniques like metaphor and simile, and powerful action verbs.

To warm up the crowd, I quoted from an email I got from Ann Haigh about analogies and metaphors found in high school essays:

• She grew on him like she was a colony of E. Coli, and he was room-temperature Canadian beef.
• She had a deep, throaty, genuine laugh, like that sound a dog makes just before it throws up.
• The hailstones leaped from the pavement, just like maggots when you fry them in hot grease.

And then the participants set to work.

Matt Amendariz of MattBites takes a break from his usual travel writing.

Garrett McCord of Vanilla Garlic was first to read. That takes courage in a group of peers.

Jaden Hair declared that the cereal made excellent fangs. Would you guess that she's a mom?

The results delighted me. That’s what always happens. Those who read their work wrote sensuously, with humor, emotion and evocative scenes from childhood and family life. (See examples in the comments on my earlier post on sensuous writing.)

What’s the secret to unleashing your creativity during writing exercises?  My short video about writing exercises explains.

Try it for yourself (not necessarily with Corn Pops), and enter Will Write for Food’s 150-word sensuous writing contest. Deadline is Saturday at midnight.

And for a student’s eye-view of this class, see this post by Dianasaur Dishes.

(Thanks to Owen Rubin the photos of Brooke, Matt and Garrett; to Matt Armendariz for the photo of Jaden: and to Diane Eblin for the video.)

I’m  adjusting to this new format of food writing and blogging conference, where hanging out is a big part of the day. Today I’ve walked along the beach in the surf, done yogalates with David Lebovitz and Matt Amendariz, gave Nancy Hachiso a quick Twitter lesson, had lunch with Michael and Donna Ruhlman, and now I’m sitting in the bar, waiting for the presentation at 3 p.m.,when Jaden Hair and David Lebovitz discuss book proposals, with a handout from me.

You’ll just have to join us next year. Really. You can relax and network simultaneously. And the presentations have been excellent. See this post from Diane Cu of White on Rice for a report on food writing, food styling and photography.

In Michael Ruhlman’s  talk abut the writing process, Stephanie Stiavetti asked about burnout. Michael said to just turn off the social media and do the work (Wait! Not yet!).

“Be ruthless. Make 2-3 hours of dedicated, focused writing time with no one intruding,” he advised.”Turn off email and Facebook. Don’t you dare click that get mail button.” That got laughs of self-recognition from the crowd, many of whom are Twittering (see #fbcamp).

It made even more sense when he asked if you would you invite a crowd into your office when you had work to do. No. Now, back to your writing, which I hope was already in progress. Thanks for dropping in.

See further posts here:

Food Blogger Camp, Part 1 (David Lebovitz)

Food Blogger Camp, Part 2 (David Lebovitz)

All I Got From Food Blogger Camp… (Steamy Kitchen)

Food Blogger Camp: Food Writing, Photography & Styling Tips (White on Rice Couple)

Food Photography, Getting a Cookbook Deal & Zihua Market (White on Rice Couple)

Food Blogger Camp at Club Med Ixtapa (Dianasaur Dishes)

Clicking the Mental Refresh Button in Ixtapa (Foodspiration)

Food Blogger Camp Part Uno (A Beach Home Companion)

Food Blogger Camp Part Dos (A Beach Home Companion)

Food Blogger Camp Part Tres (A Beach Home Companion)

Food Blogger Camp Tips & Insights (Dianne Jacob)

Sensuous Writing with Corn Pops (Dianne Jacob)

Eating in Paradise (Frantastic Food)

Sunset (Frantastic Food)

A Day at the Beach (Frantastic Food)

And He Said, “Let there be light” (Frantastic Food)

Constants (and Tequila) (Vanilla Garlic)

Zihuatanejo Market: A Short Tour (Vanilla Garlic)

Food Blog Camp Flickr Pool (Photos)

Food Blogger Camp: Ixtapa, Mexico 2010 (RecipeGirl)

Ixtapa Food Blogger Camp Recap (Wasabimon)

Food Blogger Camp Top 10 (Matt Bites)

In the wee hours on Saturday, I’m taking off for the first Food Blogger Camp at Club Med Ixtapa Pacific, Mexico. I’ll be teaching a class on Writing with the Senses, and looking for a few good laughs if people write over-the-top pornographic examples.

There might also be magical prose like this:

  “The crust is as crunchy as a butter cookie, so brittle that it cracks audibly when you press it with your fork; grains of cinnamon sugar bounce off the surface as it shatters. The bottom crust is softer than the top, but browned and still breakable. Where the top and bottom meet, there’s a knotty cord of dough that becomes impregnated with enough fruit filling to make it chewy. Inside is a dense apple pack of firm Ida Red crescents bound in syrupy juice.”

– Jane and Michael Stern, The Ultimate Apple Pie, Gourmet

Why is this paragraph good? Notice how the Sterns describe in slow motion as they evoke the senses. You watch that fork and hear it shatter the surface of the pie. You imagine the chewy crust and the syrupy apples. Now appreciate the powerful action verbs: cracks, bounce, shatters, impregnated.  And admire their use of analogy (crunchy as a butter cookie) and metaphor (a knotty cord).

Since I’ll be in Mexico for a week where Internet service is limited, I’m announcing my first writing contest. While I’m gone, I invite you to experiment with these techniques and submit your writing below in a comment. Give me 150 words maximum of sensuous writing. More will disqualify you. 

Deadline is January 16, when I return. The following week I’ll announce the winner, who receives a free hour of my consulting time, to discuss

• blogging or writing samples
• writing career
• questions about recipe writing or freelance writing
• book ideas, etc.

Be funny, be creative, but most of all, get readers to see it, smell it, hear it, touch it and taste it in their minds. Good luck!

Let’s hit the beach, bask in the sun and get to know each other. I’m delighted to announce the first annual Food Blogger Camp at Club Med Ixtapa Pacific in Ixtapa, Mexico, January 9-16, 2010.

Club Med is giving away accommodations for seven nights, coach airfare, and a scholarship for one sweepstakes winner. You’ll get to meet and hang out with me, plus some of the most talented food bloggers, authors, and food photographers in the business.

At the Boot Camp, we’ll have workshops on how to improve blogging, photography and multimedia skills. I’ll lead a workshop on writing with the senses, and I know I’ll chime in when Jaden Hair and David Lebovitz share their stories on getting published, including drafting a proposal and working with or without an agent. We’ll also take a walking tour of the Zijuatanejo market, taste tacos and tequilas, visit a fisherman’s market and talk with local farmers about sustainable agriculture.

This event is open to all food bloggers. Please read the contest rules before entering. To enter, just leave a comment below, with a link to your blog in the URL. To increase your chances, add a comment on the participating blog sites of these instructors:

• David Lebovitz
• Diane Cu and Todd Porter, White on Rice Couple
• Jaden Hair, Steamy Kitchen
• Matt Armendariz of Matt Bites
• Michael Ruhlman.

You can also have an extra entry here at Club Med during the contest run dates.

The contest begins now and ends on Sunday September 13, 2009 at 11:59 p.m EST (US). Club Med will draw a winner at random from comments on participating websites and Twitter followers on or around September 15, 2009. The winner may bring a guest for the discounted price of a double occupancy room. Guest airfare is not included. If you have already paid and win the sweepstakes, Club Med will refund your payment.

To book the trip:

1. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click “CLICK HERE TO BOOK.”

2. Use Login: blogger, Password: 160606 to get the Food Blog Camp discount price of $599 to $999 (US) based on double-occupancy and length of stay.

3. On the drop-down menu, choose “Ixtapa.” Type in the dates January 9-16, and 7 days. The booking page will open showing the discounted price just underneath the regular price. (It should say “Best Available Offer: Food Blogger Camp.”)

For questions, call 1-888-WebClub. See you there!

9/15/09: Congratulations to sweepstakes winner Casey Barber of Good. Food. Stories.

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