Freelance Turkey

Nice title, huh? Funny, catchy, on-topic and related to today's news. Which is Thanksgiving. A happy Thanksgiving to all my visitors. Sometimes I wonder why it's necessary only for the Prez to pardon a turkey. Why can't each of us buy a pair and pardon one of em? That way you could eat your turkey and free it too. Feel good and eat good. Ahh...I sound like I'm pushing a cereal ad. Forget the presidential turkey and let's move on to a presidential daughter - Barbara Bush was relieved of her purse and cell phone by an enterprising purse snatcher. And that too right under the noses of the secret service who were in tow while she was having dinner.

But the best part is in the comments:
"I see a Congressional Medal of Honor in this agent's future. Isn't that what Bush gives to everyone who screws up?"

And the response to the above comment:"I can't believe you wrote this, you low life scum....." - blogs.abcnews.com

Sigh! Now that we're done with the turkeys and pardons and the Bush family, let's get on with freelance writing. You know, the best writing comes out of a combination of two factors:
1. Your knowledge of the subject matter.
2. Your love of the subject matter.

Of course, your writing ability matters, but that's a secondary factor. You need to understand the complexities and the realities of the sector / subject before you have something valuable to offer to readers. Secondly, if you have a liking for the subject, and you really have strong views about it, it shines through in the writing and will reach out and ring some bells in the reader's head. That is what makes good writing. Without either of these, you're just a smartaleck, pompous ass.


"Brooks is sitting on some of the most valuable journalistic real estate in the world and he never seems to have a damn thing to say. His columns are filled with the most trite, banal, superficial pablum I've ever seen in the New York Times. It's just such a frustrating waste of space." - www.washingtonmonthly.com
True. True.

So are you a writer or an ass?