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Marinated Manuscripts

11/11/2013

28 Comments

 
Picturephoto from http://ninjinsushi.com/
Korean cooking involves A LOT of marinating of meat and vegetables. I've never seen them eat meat plain. A little soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, onions, ginger, and sometimes spices are added for flavor. Then the meat must marinate in order to get the best results. Well, I realized it's the same with my stories!

This past week I revised a manuscript after getting some great comments from a writing friend. She suggested adding a little metaphor, more descriptive language, etc... to really make my story sing. So I did. And the results were stunning! Now I'm letting this baby marinate longer so that when I return to it, I can enjoy the freshness and flavor even more. I have also learned to wait after my critique groups have edited my manuscripts before revising. I used to jump right on the targeted issues in my stories. But if I let the story sit longer, when I return to the critiques, their comments make more sense.

The past two weeks my daughter has been learning about figurative language and adding to her interactive notebook. I'm going to use her list as a sort of mini-checklist for my stories to add more flavor to the marinade. Granted, you don't need all of these, but a sprinkling of some can make a difference!

Figurative Language Mini-Checklist
___ similes
___ metaphors
___hyperboles
___personification
___idioms
___alliteration
___allusion
___onomatopoeia

And just for fun, the above photo is a Korean meat called Bulgogi, a marinated sweet beef, that I make a couple times a month :) Below is a recipe that I got off the Internet somewhere. The photo comes from a restaurant in CA.

Bulgogi

Ingredients:
1 pound beef sirloin (thinly sliced, paper thin)
5 cloves garlic (grated)
¼-1/2 inch ginger (grated)
1 small onion (grated)
1  Asian pear (grated) 
1 Fuji apple (grated)
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon sugar
2 green onions (chopped)
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Mix it all together and pour over the meat. I use either the pear or apple, not both. You can use the American pear, too. Let the meat marinate for at least an hour or even overnight. Stir fry. Mat-shi-gae-deu-sayo or Enjoy in Korean.

28 Comments
Jackie Wellington link
11/10/2013 09:08:10 pm

Thanks for pasting this post on Facebook. I never knew this blog existed. I love the alliteration "Marinated Manuscript" for this piece. I am a huge fan of Korean cooking because I being in the military you meet Army wives who are Korean.

I agree with the story being sprinkled with figurative language. In Virginia, we have teach these because students are tested on state assessment. I tell them often, do not use all at once, but you should have at least one in each paragraph. Thanks for this post!

Reply
Tina Cho link
11/10/2013 09:50:02 pm

Thanks, Jackie, for your comments! You know, I didn't even realize I used alliteration on the title. Good catch! And that's neat you've met Korean military wives. There are some American bases here, and I've met many military families.

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Sylvia Liu link
11/11/2013 12:37:03 am

Great post and thanks for the recipe. I'll try it out!

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Tina Cho link
11/12/2013 10:28:57 am

Thanks, Sylvia. Hope you like the recipe.

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Robin link
11/11/2013 01:59:04 am

Tina, Terrific post! Sometimes letting a manuscript sit for a while really does give you a chance to look at it with fresh eyes. I love your comparison to marinating meat. p.s. I may give your yummy recipe a try. Thanks so much for posting.

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Tina Cho link
11/12/2013 10:29:49 am

Thanks, Robin. If you make this, let me know how it turns out!

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Leandra link
11/11/2013 02:14:25 am

Mmm, it looks delicious! It's actually time for lunch right now, so my belly is especially grumbly.

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Tina Cho link
11/12/2013 10:30:21 am

My son, especially, loves bulgogi!

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Pam Brunskill
11/11/2013 02:42:20 am

Awesome post, Tina! I love your idea for marinating manuscripts. I tend to jump right in and revise after critique partners suggest things, but I think you're right...it's better to wait a bit!

Reply
Tina Cho link
11/12/2013 10:30:59 am

Ya, I'm guilty of jumping right in also, but I had a better experience after I waited.

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Carrie F link
11/11/2013 05:38:27 am

You're making my mouth water for that beef dish - and for your manuscript, too. :-)

I know what you mean about waiting to revise. Somehow when I wait a few months (usually not by choice, but because I'm busy with other things) when I come back to the story it's easier to make the substantive revisions that will really make it a stronger story.

Reply
Tina Cho link
11/12/2013 10:39:29 am

You'll probably get to see the ms this month, Carrie. I need your help.

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Cathy Ballou Mealey link
11/11/2013 06:21:30 am

I'm completely with you on the marinating method. I have so many marinating at present, I fear they may turn to mush before I get back to them!

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Tina Cho link
11/12/2013 10:39:59 am

Very funny, Cathy!

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Tracy Campbell link
11/11/2013 08:04:29 am

Hi Tina,
I love how you tied in marinating food to writing. A perfect post. I don't remember ever being taught in school the writing tips that your daughter is getting. She's very fortunate to have a mom for a writer. At times, it's hard to let my writing sit, but when I do I either say, whoa that was awful and/or that wasn't too bad. But either way, the writing always needs improvement.
Thanks again, for a super post.
Tracy

Reply
Tina Cho link
11/12/2013 10:40:41 am

I think new standards have kids learning figurative language earlier!

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Genevieve link
11/11/2013 08:27:28 am

Marinating is a great idea. Write, marinate, revise, marinate, get critique, marinate, revise again, marinate, marinate some more, and submit!! Love it!

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Tina Cho link
11/12/2013 10:41:22 am

You got it, Genevieve! We should make a song.

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julie
11/11/2013 08:58:33 am

This is a great post, Tina! I'Ve used the term to talk to my kids about the choices they make in friends too .

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Tina Cho link
11/12/2013 10:41:56 am

Very interesting!

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patientdreamer link
11/11/2013 01:40:21 pm

Lovely post regarding the marinating of our work. Love the beef dish, thanks for the recipe Will try it out over the weekend.

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Tina Cho link
11/12/2013 10:42:26 am

Let me know how it turns out, Diane!

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Gloria link
11/12/2013 09:52:54 am

Tina, Bulgogi is one of my favorite dishes! I learned about it when we were in Korea. A Korean friend gave me a recipe and I used it often but lost it when we moved. Thanks for the new recipe. She did not put pear or apple in hers but I will try this one out, too. My mouth is watering already!!!

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Tina Cho link
11/12/2013 10:43:16 am

I think the fruit is to make the meat sweet and soft. Hope it turns out!

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Mirka Breen link
11/14/2013 12:32:10 am

This post is just *the best*- not only the spot on ruminations about marinating our work, but the yummiest beefiest eat-me-est dish as a bonus.

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Tina Cho link
11/14/2013 08:34:04 am

Ah, thanks, Mirka! That's a juicy compliment!

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Hannah Holt link
11/16/2013 12:57:03 am

Yum! Thanks for the recipe and the reminder to let my manuscripts marinate. I like to let critique group comments marinate too, but sometimes I wait too long and then I forget to make all the changes needed. I guess it's a balance between marinating and not letting the manuscript sit until it becomes stale and forgotten. Or maybe I just need to be more organized about my editing process.

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Tina Cho link
11/16/2013 02:31:50 pm

Thanks, Hannah. You're right, we shouldn't let the ms become stale but come back to them in a reasonable time!

Reply



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    Tina M. Cho, children's author

    I'm a children's author and freelance writer for the educational market. Welcome!

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