How to Write Like a Michelin Chef

A Simple Method for Learning Any Skill Fast

Deceptively simple. (Source: Unsplash)

Do you want to produce a story so delicious, it’s worthy of Parisian Michelin-star restaurant La Fouquet’s?

If you’re reading this, chances are you do. How?

According to public consensus, I’ve barely published anything noteworthy so you probably wouldn’t put much stock in my answer now. All I can say is that recently I’ve been writing like a scientist determined to teach themselves how to cook Michelin-star-worthy dishes. So far, it’s been a fulfilling and useful strategy for continuous improvement so let me explain what I mean.

I finished my first novel during NaNoWriMo 2009. As you may or may not know, NaNoWriMo is a challenge to write a 50,000 word novel in one month.

It helps you with:

• Getting over your fear of the blank page

• Sticking with one story

• Actually finishing that story you started

What NaNoWriMo doesn’t help with is writing good words. Yet I got so addicted to the experience that I ended up writing first draft after first draft for many years. It was fun, after all, pinning my imagination down on the page! Playing with words! Competing and socialising with others every day for a full month!

This only contributed to my dislike of revision and editing. If drafting alone made you a better writer, I would be Gabriel García Márquez by now. Since I’m not, I decided a few months ago to actively improve my craft¹.

Because I like crafting beautiful prose, it’s hard for me to focus on developmental edits rather than line edits. Writing season three of my ongoing serial Requiem of the Moth, however, has helped me get more comfortable with rewriting. After finishing the first few chapters, I was getting bored with my original plot and wanted to scrap some scenes. I rewrote and edited in details that would be important later. It was satisfying and surprisingly fun!

In general, committing to a weekly newsletter has been incredibly valuable in practicing revision and editing. This only works if you deliberately strive to make each and every piece the best it can be. I’ve definitely fallen into the trap of publishing pieces that are just good enough when short on time. Now I try to improve every piece as much as I can within the time I have.

Combine this with marketing and copywriting books I’ve been reading that all say the same thing: Brainstorm as many headlines, bullet points, calls to action (insert piece of copywriting here) as possible to find the best one. Copywriters really don’t think the first draft is the best it can be.

I’m not the only one who likens writing (or creative activity) to cooking—in his book Confessions of an Advertising Man, David Ogilvy compares running an ad agency to working in a French restaurant kitchen. Some of the points he mentions are:

• Never stop practising the basics and don’t get distracted by busywork—just as his head chef would come out of his office once a week to cook himself, Ogilvy still writes the occasional ad himself in addition to running his agency.

• Keep your workspace as neat and clean as possible.

• Inspect every finished product critically and send it back to the drawing board if it needs more work.

• Leverage where you trump competitors by either being better or putting in more effort than them².

• If you master a crisis or hit a milestone, celebrate! It will keep you motivated.

Combine this with my memory of watching a friend teach himself how to make kaiseki—traditional Japanese cuisine that consists of a series of deceptively simple but artfully arranged dishes served by the host to their guests at tea ceremony gatherings. His method was obviously influenced by his expertise as an experimental physicist:

1. Get instructions from tutorial videos on 1-2 dishes to be made simultaneously

2. Execute from memory but consult the video if stuck

3. Test the results by tasting and comparing the visuals to the video

4. Identify what can be improved and iterate until satisfied

His precise execution and review of what could be improved was a sight to behold. It was so impressive that it’s inspired me to master more Japanese cooking myself³.

This learning method can be applied to many other skills, including writing:

1. Get instructions from masters of the craft by reading books, watching lectures, taking courses, etc.

2. Practise writing with and without consulting these instructions

3. Ask for reader feedback on what you’ve written

4. Identify your weaknesses, revise, edit, and keep practising

I’ve been applying this method to writing, this newsletter, as well as cooking whenever I find the time. As I get results, I hope to refine the way I learn and improve any skill.

One realisation I’ve had is that there’s a delicate balance between editing and publishing—you don’t want to edit endlessly when you could publish and get feedback sooner, which will make it easier to know what’s wrong and improve with the next piece. This is what iterate means!

I hope to report back with results soon.

What is one skill or area you’ve been trying to improve in? What is your strategy? Let me know in the comments so we can all share advice!

Thank you to

Naoya Saeki

for seeding this idea in our conversation.

1. That is, again. I had some great critique partners when I was writing in German. Now that I write mostly in English, I want to find new partners who enjoy and understand my unique style.

2. ”If you can make yourself indispensable to a client, you will never be fired.” (p.17-18)

3. With more modest goals! For now I’m only making simple staples like miso soup, curry, ochazuke, mapo tofu, chawanmushi, etc.