Writing – Page 2 – OLIVIA COLLETTE

Roger Ebert prefers newspapers

February 8, 2009March 1, 2010Posted in Webby Internet Stuff, WritingTagged newspapers, online media, print publications, Roger EbertLeave a comment

To elaborate on the thought I started here, I thought I’d add some insights I recently found on Roger Ebert’s blog. Check it out.

As usual, Roger Ebert puts it more brilliantly than I could. Then again, he’s Roger Ebert. Here, he tells us how he’s rediscovered the pleasure of reading newspapers, and why he’s now up to 4 dailies. He explains how complex the online news experience can be, even with popular hubs like the Huffington Post. Surprisingly, he also finds reading newspapers to be faster.

A note on Roger Ebert. For a few years now, he hasn’t spoken a word as a result of numerous surgeries related to thyroid cancer, including a tracheostomy. His spot on Ebert & Roeper was subsequently taken over by a variety of humble guest critics until the show ended last year. Oddly enough, his ordeal has strengthened his writing. Don’t get me wrong. I’ve always enjoyed reading his reviews online: they’re a Friday morning delight! But his physical voicelessness seems to have made his writing voice a little more robust. Writing is his only means of reflection right now. It’s the only way he can communicate at all, and he just keeps getting better at it. What an amazing tale of resilience. When great gets better, it’s always inspiring.

That said, before you decide to watch any movie, read the Ebert review. You may not agree with what he has to say, and maybe you wouldn’t see the movie anyway. But your life will be richer for having read it.

Write like you

February 2, 2009March 1, 2010Posted in WritingTagged advertising, editor, journalism, WritingLeave a comment

The odd thing about the “jack of all trades, master of none” clause is that it only works for certain professions. Supermodels, for example, are encouraged to “diversify,” because they won’t be in demand forever. Makes sense, and many, like Christy Turlington and Cindy Crawford, have been quite successful. But what if you diversify first, then try to specialize. If you‘re a writer, it’s hard.

I’ve always said that I was lucky to have had jobs that involved writing in one capacity or another. The problem is there have been so many capacities. I’ve written articles, captions, headlines, brochures, flyers, press releases, ad heads, ad sub-heads, body copy, web sites, concepts, short stories, Q&As, scripts, poems and so forth. For a while, I preferred journalism, but advertising paid more, so I went into it through a series of fortunate encounters. Then, last May, the big-ass agency where I worked as a junior copywriter lost their biggest clients, and I was one of the casualties. When it happened, I figured it was time to make a move back to journalism after a 3-year hiatus.

I got lucky. A job opened up at this prestigious magazine and it seemed to be a right fit. Plus, I’d get to work at a prestigious magazine to boot. Granted, I’d be working for the web site, but the magazine’s name is still attached to everything I do, and it feels great!

But the thing is, not only have I not been writing articles for three years, I also haven’t been corrupted by the magazine’s style.

Today, I handed in a piece to the magazine’s editor-in-chief, just to get her feedback. She told me there were some cute bits, but mostly I was “too PR.”

“You try to hard to get it right,” she says. “Don’t write right. Write like you. Write what you like.”

I don’t think I’ve ever done that, and it’s bloody hard! I don’t always know what I write like. I just write, and I’ve never asked if I was in there.

Still, what an exciting challenge. Maybe I haven’t been me in my texts before, at least, not when describing a hotel or restaurant. But I’m sure I’m in there somewhere.

We’re jammin’

January 31, 2009March 1, 2010Posted in Writing3 Comments

Okay, so I caved. Wanna fight about it?

I’m the editor of this website that I won’t mention here. When I took the job, I looked forward to a return to long copy; something that gets put away when you work in advertising for 3 years. But the thing is, I’m out of practice. I’m rusty. In fact, I’m a little corroded. So my colleague, who’s a brilliant writer himself, suggested I start blogging. “Irk,” I said. “The last thing I want to do is share anything that I personally think with the web.” Then I thought about it, and in fact, that’s precisely what I want to do. I do want people to care what I think, and I want them to think that what I think is something anyone should care about. And I want them to tell all their friends to care about what I think because it’s worth caring about! Maybe even a little more so than what other people think…(but only a little; I’m not that vain.)

Also, it’ll help get me back into a writing groove. So here goes.