<a href="http://www.tashadoestulsa.com/?attachment_id=9627" rel="attachment wp-att-9627"><img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-9627" title="Tulsa Blogger Meetup Food Writing Edition" src="http://www.tashadoestulsa.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/DSC_0158-500x332.jpg" alt="Tulsa Blogger Meetup Food Writing Edition" width="500" height="332" /></a>

Last week a group of Tulsa-area bloggers gathered at the offices of <a href="http://www.thislandpress.com/" target="_blank">This Land Press</a> for Tulsa Blogger Meetup Food Writing Edition. We ate, <a href="http://thislandpress.com/10/24/2011/vintage-smith/" target="_blank">we drank</a>, we talked shop. And then we all put on pink, glittery boas and sang songs from RENT.

Our harmonies were spectacular.

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<a href="http://www.tashadoestulsa.com/?attachment_id=9628" rel="attachment wp-att-9628"><img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-9628" title="Tulsa Blogger Meetup Food Writing Edition" src="http://www.tashadoestulsa.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/DSC_0153-500x332.jpg" alt="Tulsa Blogger Meetup Food Writing Edition" width="500" height="332" /></a>

OK, so what we actually did was powwow around <a href="http://argentfork.com/" target="_blank">Mark Brown, food writer at ArgentFork.com</a> and managing editor at <a href="http://www.thislandpress.com/" target="_blank">This Land Press</a>. He talked to us about what he does, how he got started with food writing and how he approaches the online world with his craft.

Some notes:
<ul>
	<li><strong>About Mark: he takes a multimedia approach to food writing</strong>. Argent Fork is a print-only food journal that publishes four times annually; he also regularly publishes to <a href="http://argentfork.com/forklift/" target="_blank">a blog at ArgentFork.com</a>. He talked at the blogger meetup about the making of one of his most recent posts, about the time <a href="http://argentfork.com/2011/11/brace-yourself/" target="_blank">his son got braces</a> - about how detail is rendered by a threat and danger, about the process of writing in situ vs. writing later from notes.</li>
	<li><strong>Writing for the market vs. writing as art</strong>. Write what you want to write, Mark said. Readers can always scroll to the recipe. But often what they're looking for is something more, a point of connection, a story.</li>
	<li><strong>Writing for readers vs. writing as personal expression</strong>. Once Mark went all esoteric in an article he wrote while on staff at the local daily newspaper. The topic? Mustard. He thinks maybe three people read it. Mark's advice: You have to write for you. And when you do, eventually, the audience comes.</li>
	<li><strong>Group discussion:</strong> personal journaling vs. online publishing; learning the technical side of blogging vs. hiring help; how exactly blogging is defined in the first place.</li>
</ul>
See? That's what so great about these meetups. There's lots of room for questions, discussion and debate, and the players involved have a huge range of experience and expertise. I see new connections happen at each and every one of these meetups. They result in a stronger local blogging community. That's pretty exciting, if you ask me.

<strong>While I have you:</strong> Mark your calendars for the December Tulsa Blogger Meetup:

<strong>Tulsa Blogger Meetup, Blog PR Edition</strong>
When: Dec. 8, 6:30 p.m.
Where: <a href="http://www.tulsapressclub.com/" target="_blank">Tulsa Press Club</a>, 415 S. Boston Avenue

Our speaker will be <strong><a href="http://mandyvavrinak.com/" target="_blank">Mandy Vavrinak, a Tulsa PR pro</a></strong> who focuses on social media and the integration of new and traditional tactics. Learn more about Mandy at <a href="http://mandyvavrinak.com/" target="_blank">MandyVavrinak.com</a>; you can also <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/Mandy_Vavrinak" target="_blank">follow her on Twitter</a>.

I'll have more details coming on what's for dinner, so stay tuned.

<strong>What were your take-aways from this month's meetup? What do you hope to discuss at the December meetup?</strong>