"Bluefish Paté and Matzah" image by Earthman (Adam Hertz)
One of the pleasures of writing about annual Toronto events is that I'd never have expected to have a title like "Learn How to Make Matzo in Toronto before the 2013 Passover" in DeHaan Services (or elsewhere).
However, it's an annual tradition in one of the downtown parks to invite anyone to take part before the Passover season begins.
However, it's an annual tradition in one of the downtown parks to invite anyone to take part before the Passover season begins.
One Tasteful Writing Tip
In the old days of print media, the most important advice was to write an attention-grabbing title. The title was the first, and often only, thing a potential reader would know about the article before reading it.
A bland title relegated the article to oblivion.
Writing for online publication requires using key phrases that people are seeking, and using those phrases throughout the article.
While writing this article specifically about an annual spring Toronto event, I realized that people interested in "making matzo bread" might also be interested in "matzo bread recipes".
A little research convinced me to stay away from the kosher regulations of Judaism. I'm just not qualified to deal with the fine points...or even the broad strokes.
So I linked to a couple of recipe books and included the disclaimer that none of what I wrote is certified as kosher. The event to bake matzo bread in a park in Toronto, which is the main focus of the article, is explicitly not a religious event and does not try to meet the dietary rules. So that's squared away.
My writing tip is to "know your limit and write within it" (to paraphrase the Ontario Lottery and Gaming tag phrase).
Write within your areas of expertise; quote and cite authorities; and stretch to your abilities. But don't write beyond your knowledge.
I saw an example at a Running Room clinic recently. Our guest speaker spoke about stretching to warm up and cool down. When one participant asked about a specific problem, the answer was "Try this; if it does not help in a week, see your doctor". There were actually several possible solutions, but it would take an ongoing relationship to explore them. If the guest speaker had started down that road, she may have been responsible for ongoing care and treatment. That was far beyond what she could do in that context.
As a writer, you may be viewed as an authority. Goodness knows it helps to sound authoritative.
Just don't fake your knowledge beyond what you truly have. I knew about the event to bake matzo bread in the park. Knowing that I knew that I knew far too little about Kosher regulations to suggest a recipe for matzo balls in chicken soup, I simply linked to some recipe
A bland title relegated the article to oblivion.
Writing for online publication requires using key phrases that people are seeking, and using those phrases throughout the article.
While writing this article specifically about an annual spring Toronto event, I realized that people interested in "making matzo bread" might also be interested in "matzo bread recipes".
A little research convinced me to stay away from the kosher regulations of Judaism. I'm just not qualified to deal with the fine points...or even the broad strokes.
So I linked to a couple of recipe books and included the disclaimer that none of what I wrote is certified as kosher. The event to bake matzo bread in a park in Toronto, which is the main focus of the article, is explicitly not a religious event and does not try to meet the dietary rules. So that's squared away.
My writing tip is to "know your limit and write within it" (to paraphrase the Ontario Lottery and Gaming tag phrase).
Write within your areas of expertise; quote and cite authorities; and stretch to your abilities. But don't write beyond your knowledge.
I saw an example at a Running Room clinic recently. Our guest speaker spoke about stretching to warm up and cool down. When one participant asked about a specific problem, the answer was "Try this; if it does not help in a week, see your doctor". There were actually several possible solutions, but it would take an ongoing relationship to explore them. If the guest speaker had started down that road, she may have been responsible for ongoing care and treatment. That was far beyond what she could do in that context.
As a writer, you may be viewed as an authority. Goodness knows it helps to sound authoritative.
Just don't fake your knowledge beyond what you truly have. I knew about the event to bake matzo bread in the park. Knowing that I knew that I knew far too little about Kosher regulations to suggest a recipe for matzo balls in chicken soup, I simply linked to some recipe
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