My oat milk wants me to write

Yes, my oat milk wants me to write.

All I was doing was making myself a cuppa – before settling down to a brief evening writing session – and there it was, on the side of my carton of Oatly.

“Start writing,” it read. “It can be about absolutely anything, the weirder the better because people might find it interesting and actually start reading.”

Well, quite. When tutoring, I have often advised my students to find the story within the story, the niche within the niche, and write about that. Unusual stuff – weird stuff – does sell. Go looking for it. Dig deeper. Don’t be satisfied with your first idea.

There was more: “Once you get them here you have their interest so drop the nonsense and provide something of value or you might lose them.”

Well, quite – again. Your introductory paragraph should capture a reader’s interest, should be free of waffle, make the readers a promise of what’s to come – and tempt them to read on.

After a bit about the goodness of oats, my Oatly advises me to “end this baby with something unexpected”.

I quite like the idea of a ‘twist’ in a non-fiction article, but perhaps that’s more suited to a short-story. Still, there’s no harm in offering a surprise to your reader as you wrap up your conclusion – perhaps as a reward for sticking with you throughout your article.

Who’d have thought it? Writing advice on the side of a litre of dairy-free plant milk. I love it even more.

Has any food or drink ever encouraged you to write? (No, wine doesn’t count.) What’s the strangest place you’ve found writing advice?