1) Level of Stress

When you’re writing a character under stress, you’ll first need to decide on their level of stress. This involves considering two things: a) What would stress them based on their personality and 2) How much would that event stress them. Different events stress varying personalities at different levels. For example, a character could have a very high-stress job working for 12+ hours a day and be content with it, but they get tasked to babysit and all of a sudden they’re losing sleep. On the other hand, you may have a more laid-back or quirky character who gets stressed over being asked to virtually anything, even something as small as picking up a pen delivery. Simply start by asking yourself a few questions: How stressed do I want my character to be? What, based on my knowledge of their personality, would make them that stressed?

2) Body Language

The first way to show rather than tell stress is through body language. Perhaps the character starts to appear jittery, their hands shaking and their foot taping at all times. Maybe other characters start to notice bags under their eyes, their eyes looking bloodshot, and them displaying a series of nervous ticks like biting their nails, scratching their head, rubbing their forehead, cracking their knuckles, etc. You could have them obviously slapping themselves awake a few times, displaying that they are having trouble sleeping. Each of these pieces of body language allow the readers to see that this character is undergoing an event or circumstance that is leaving them stressed.

3) Action

Another manner in which one can show stress to your readers is through action. For example, the stressed character starts to display erratic behavior. They start showing up late to everything, seeming disheveled and dirty. Perhaps they fall asleep at their desk in the middle of class. They start laughing at random and inappropriate moments only to start crying a minute later. If they were more of a homebody, perhaps they suddenly suggest going out and drinking with friends. Maybe they start picking fights with strangers or distancing themselves from friends. Showing how their behavior changes through action can help the reader and the characters within the story note the level of stress the character is under.

4) Dialogue

You can also display character stress or anxiousness through dialogue. Perhaps a very talkative character suddenly has very little to say. Maybe they’ve suddenly become harsh, stress making them lash out at anyone who speaks to them. They could become very sensitive, unable to have conversations without tearing up. Their report with every character will be different, so perhaps someone that they normally love spending time with they suddenly grow distant from knowing that they’ll break down around them. Think about your character’s dynamic with everyone in the story as well as their normal manner of speech. Showing changes in these two aspects of the character will allow the readers to notice further red flags.

5) Arc

As with anything in your story, whether it is background noise or not, there needs to be a purpose. Consider the stress that your character is under a mini-arc. Why are they going through this? What does this stress show about the character? Perhaps it shows that a character that we previously thought infallible isn’t as strong as they portrayed themselves to be. Or maybe it challenges a character in an area that will reveal something new about them. Consider how the stress changes the character and how the audience perceives them.

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1) Choose your audience

As we examined previously, one of the first steps to writing a cookbook is choosing your theme. Cookbook writers make the mistake of trying to make their cookbook as ‘general’ or easily accessible to anyone as possible. The problem with this method is a cookbook that is for ‘everyone’ is just going to get lost in the mix. A famous chef could pull off a more general theme because they already have name recognition, but generally readers in this genre are looking for cookbooks that match with specific needs they have. Maybe they’re a vegan but they’re looking for less complex quick recipes or they’re a Mom looking for some date night dishes that feel fancy but don’t take too much time. Cornering the market on more specific needs may feel like it’s limiting your audience, but it’s actually assuring that you gain a loyal following.

2) Skill Level

The next aspect to consider when writing your cookbook is your reader’s skill level. Do you want to make a cookbook for master chefs who want to challenge themselves? Or perhaps a book for people wanting to teach themselves how to cook from the… oven up? Putting yourself in the minds of your readers is a very important step in creating a cookbook that is a perfect match for your target audience. If you’d like to include recipes for an array of cooking skill levels you can, but keep in mind it may be helpful to break these up into sections in the table of contents. This way when a reader opens your book, they can flip right to the recipes they can handle.

3) Shopping

Another important thing to keep in mind when considering your audience is where they’ll be shopping. Some cookbook recipes are more regional, looking to attempt to bring recipes from the south all across the country or something of the like. If you’re attempting a cookbook like this, you’ll need to keep in mind that people in other states or other parts of the world may be shopping at entirely different stores than you do. This means there may be some specific ingredients that will be more difficult to find for them than it would be for you locally. So, as you’re writing, it’s important to research the ingredients you’re including and, if need be, including possible substitutes for that ingredient if it will be difficult to find in other areas of the world.

4) Budget

Money, money, money, must be…. yummy? Not quite, but budget is important to consider as well. If you’re writing a book of recipes that happen to be super simple with inexpensive ingredients, taking ‘on a budget’ onto your title will definitely draw more readers to your work. If your recipes are more complex and could be expensive, it may be helpful to consider adding little footnotes giving people who are on a budget tips on how to find less expensive versions of certain ingredients. This will end up making your recipes accessible for both readers who want something more high-end and something more budget-conscious.

5) Time

Finally, when putting yourself in the minds of your food fanatics, consider their time. How much time will they need to set aside to cook these recipes? An hour? Two hours? If your recipes tend to take longer, who will have time to cook longer recipes each day? Stay-at-home parents? Retirees? Considering the time needed for recipes could simply allow you to narrow down a possible target audience to tack onto your book title. Quick Recipes for Moms on the Go, A Stay-at-Home Parent’s Guide to Nutrition-Packed Meals– narrowing down the target audience using time will allow your book to pop up in those specific searches.

If you’d like to allow your book to be more accessible to people with varying degrees of cooking time, consider adding longer or shorter recipes to give your readers an array of options. Similarly to the skill level, this could be another manner to arrange your recipes in your table of contents. This way, your readers can easily flip to a recipe they have time for instead of having to spend an hour flipping through your book that they could’ve spent cooking their new favorite meal.

The post Writing For Your Audience: Cookbooks appeared first on Dorrance Publishing Company.