Exploiting the news for pay

A writer’s best friend is the news. Whether you’re a journalist, poet or novelist, you can always find something to inspire you. You then simply translate your epiphany to a published work.

Many of my poems have been written as a result of something that happened, something that inspired me to speak. I recall seeing the story of a river that flooded a community. Ironically, this was the second time the river did this. I found myself wondering why these people would rebuild without resolving the issue in the first place. I wrote the poem, “Monologue by a River,” and it was published by an educational publisher then included in my collection A Poetry Break. I guess because the poem is a sonnet, people latch onto it.

I just finished an article for a new client I provide content to, Beyond Madison Avenue. This is a really fun account for me; blogging for a client is definitely a plus since I seem addicted to this form. I’d seen a PBS clip about Dr. Ron Paul’s remarkable fundraising via the Internet. I found it fascinating that a candidate could raise the kind of money he did without his official organizers doing a thing to orchestrate it. To read the story, visit Beyond Madison Avenue.

After Ken Burns’ movie The War aired, he came to the University of North Florida to do a lecture. I cover news here in Jax, so I went to the lecture and then arranged a followup interview. Burns and his script writer Geoffrey C. Ward will be the cover feature for The Writer in March, 2008. Chuck Leddy did the article about Ward; I wrote about Burns.

I learned about an Orlando mom who got sued for writing a blog. That spurred me to look into liability issues for writers, a topic I believe will increase in importance because, let’s face it, everybody wants to write these days. With lots of help from fellow members in the American Society of Journalists and Authors, I interviewed a leading intellectual property rights attorney. I cover the topics of liability and copyright issues in my column Web Savvy at the online site for The Writer—part I published yesterday and part II will go live around the end of the year.

I admit I’m an avid (even rabid) consumer of news. I’ll read anything if it’s topical. It brings me pleasure to know what’s happening in the world. And it also helps me to publish freelance work. Win-Win.

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Poets who read Creative Writer US may want to read the interview I did with Donald Hall in the December issue of The Writer. And watch for a story I did about Hanukkah for The Florida Times Union.

New office finished and back on track (sort of)

We finally managed to cull through all the stacks of paper I'd accumulated in my former office. I learned something about myself: I am better off with a smaller office. I am teaching myself to use a trash can.

I'm a fanatic clipper--always snipping an article or fact collection for possible future pieces. I'm trying to save files in folders on my computer, and trying to keep a clip notebook so those finds stay in an organized place.

My new office is an interior room, and that will definitely work better for me. My old office had 7 windows. I shot the butterfly photo at top right one day when I was in the middle of a hair-raising freelance project. Same thing happened every time I saw a hummingbird. Had to jump up and take a looksee.

Years ago I did a story on a psychic. Wrote the piece for a newspaper. When I walked into her office, I was armed with my tape recorder, my notepad and a whole lot of skepticism.

Within minutes, Mary Green had turned me into a believer. For one thing, she started our session by asking me why I insisted on writing at a desk by a window. There were a few more tibdbits she tossed before tossing a whole loaf. "Congratulations."

"For what?" I asked.

"You're pregnant."

"No way," I said.

Five months later my husband and I welcomed our first child into the world.

Many years later, I realize I need to minimize distractions. Mary Green was right. The window view wasn't working out.

I'll be posting here five days a week on most weeks. Summer's on the wane and my freelance plate is full.

What's wrong with Katie Couric?

I’ve tried to watch Katie Couric, sole female anchor on an evening news program. And despite my best intentions, I end up switching to CNN or Fox.

Funny thing is I want Couric to work because she’s female. I liked her okay when she did the peppy morning show with that other guy, the one who’s losing his hair. She seemed genuine then. She was a little perky, but I found that actually helped wake me up. I’m a slow-to-come-to type early in the morning.

I tuned into Katie a week or so ago and came to the conclusion she’s basically trying too hard. She seems to take herself as seriously as a pit in a peach (you know what’s in the peach pit, in small amounts, I hope).

She just seems stilted and not at all comfortable. Couric has a girl-next-door appeal, and I think she could make better use of it.

While I’m on the subject of network news, why do all these anchors dress up so much? The rest of us are usually coming down from the plane of work, looking for the nearest comfortable clothing to put on our bodies so we can coast on low.

I think some brave network news anchor should opt for denim. That at least would give us something different to look at.

Meanwhile, I still get most of my news from print media and the Net.