www.write-hook.com

Entries in vanilla (1)

In Defense of Vanilla/In Awe of Pistachio

Saturday, November 5, 2011 at 03:45AM

Yeah, vanilla. You got a problem with that?Vanilla gets a bad rap. If you're boring, the first thing people call you is vanilla. The Urban Dictionary, in fact, has this definion: Unexciting, normal, conventional, boring.

Hey. Urban Dictionary – your mom.

I love vanilla. Vanilla is the reason desserts taste good. Vanilla is the reason some brands of chocolate are better than others. Vanilla is a major economic powerhouse. Vanilla is pivotal to the cultures and economies of Central America, where the world's best vanilla beans (much like the the world's best cacao and coffee) are grown.

Vanilla, however, is a victim of its own popularity. Everybody's OK with vanilla ice cream, so we treat it as unexciting. Normal. Conventional. Boring. Pistachio ice cream, on the other hand, is out there. Relatively few people like it. But those who do go absolutely ape shit over it.

This is the conclusion of Sally Hogshead, author, speaker, and president of Fascinate Inc., in her unfortunately titled (but nevertheless indispensable and wonderful) blog entry “5 ways to quit being boring vanilla, and start being pistachio.”

Sally makes a lot of wonderful points about a lot of things, and her argument for being pistachio is exactly the same as the meaning of my own buzz phrase, Write for the Jugular: Not everyone is going to like you. Especially if you do things like insult Urban Dictionary's mom. You're an indie, an outsider. Stop trying to take on the mighty vanilla and embrace your inner pistachio.

I promise you, this all makes a lot more sense if you read Sally Hogshead's blog entry. So please read it. But read it with a grain of salt. Respect the rebel charm of pistachio, but get your head out from where the sun ain't shining about vanilla. Vanilla is a delicate, vibrant flavor that takes just the right conditions and a lot of work to bring to its fullest. You you will be a lot more successful if you put vanilla-level work into your own projects.