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Note from your liveblogger -- scroll down to the bottom for a list of links referenced in this panel. Thanks! -- Julie
Welcome to the liveblog of the BlogHer Food '10 panel "Voice - Storytelling."
Dianne Jacob - Will Write for Food
Rebecca Crump Ezra Poundcake
Michael Procopio - Food for the Thoughtless
DIANNE: Definition of storytelling: "Storytelling passes on the essence of who we are, are a prime vehicle for assessing events, experiences and concepts from daily life to the human condition. It is an intrinsic form of communication, an integral and essential form of communication." Sounds like blogging! Why are we driven to tell stories?
MICHAEL: They communicate ideas, emotion, when people tell me stories I know them, I get drawn into their lives. Sometimes stories help you not deal with your own live, live someone else's lives through them, looking into their brain, their soul, what they choose to share with you.
REBECCA: We are always searching for people "of our tribe." When we're blog we are trying to share stories and ideas from people like us. I want to relate to people and learn about peoples' lives: "How YOU livin'?"
QUESTION: Stephanie of Happycat.com - I put up a recipe and paragraph usually. Do most people care about bloggers telling stories? I decided to share more after I went to blogger camp … but, do you guys WANT to hear about bloggers' lives? {Audience: YES!}
COMMENT: My mom had a community right around her, but now we're all so distant and busy, people need that, we're reaching out through the Internet.
COMMENT: Molly of Orangette -- someone told me once that good writing is storytelling and I hadn't thought of it that way. But most conversations are a story, even just my husband and I talking over dinner. That was a revelation for me -- stories are right under our nose, our natural language.
MICHAEL: An example of getting drawn into a blog because of the storytelling -- Diane of White on Rice Couple -- I saw a tweet about "Nail Salon Chicken." Beautiful photos, but all of a sudden there was this great story about Diane. It had tension, character. I got into Rebecca's blog because I loved her stories too.
(Ed note: Here's the link to the post at White on Rice Couple's blog.)
REBECCA: A really good story draws you in quickly. For me it's usually funny; it needs an emotional pull. So much food blogging is describing the recipe. Draw me into the experience instead. We all have a ton of cookbooks. What makes me want to make YOUR apple pie is your story, your connection.
COMMENT: Tara from Tea and Cookies - responding to woman asking about bloggers' stories. There are many types of great food blogs but the ones I read religiously are the ones that do share something with the reader. I may never cook their food but they feel like friends.
REBECCA: I remember waking up and telling my husband, "Oh my god Dooce had her baby!" To me she's real; my husband asked, "Did you go to school with her?"
COMMENT: Sean of Punk Domestics - In my case it took me a while to understand what the stories in my own life were. I took it for granted that my life was my life and it just happened. When you tease your stories out, transcribe them and share them and see reaction, that's when you put it into context. For instance, I grew up Italian American, didn't realize until late in life that everyone didn't eat pasta all the time.
SO HOW DO YOU TELL A STORY?
MICHAEL: It has to come out of an idea, an inspiration. Somebody came up to me recently and said, "Uh oh Procopios!" She turned my name into a can of spaghetti and I got obsessed by that, if I were a dish what would it be. Now … how you attack it is … something else … Dianne?
(Ed note: Here's the link -- http://michaelprocopio.wordpress.com/2010/10/06/eat-me/)
DIANNE: Beginning, middle, end; story arc; conclusion, of course. But that doesn't get to the heart of coming up with an idea that translates into a good story. People have a favorite story I tell. My mother is an immigrant -- she wanted to make spaghetti. She knew it was a red sauce. Started with 10 pounds of onions, cooked them down, then added a ton of Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, black pepper, water, and tomato paste, made a thin red sauce and put pasta in
