I think I’m becoming a professional writer.
I haven’t realized my dream to become a published author or playwright, nor have I convinced a newspaper to publish weekly columns a-la David Barry. But I think I’m getting close.
I’ve had a short story published in a book about childhood memories. Okay, so the author of that anthology self-published the collection, but still my story was included. Sorta like being published.
I’ve been writing general news assignment stories for the Martinsburg Journal-News. Quite a few actually.
And I’ve had some fun doing so.
For my story on the “Black Friday” shopping crowds, I bookended the report with a little holiday poem (‘Twas the month before Christmas and all through the town, the shoppers went searching for the best deals around…” etc.) One reader actually wrote an editorial to the newspaper commenting on what a great job Clifford Kurt did on that article, and that was REALLY cool for a day and a half – until I found out a friend of mine wrote that in. Sigh.
I’ve had a bit of fun seeing what can get past the editors and what cannot. I covered the Harpers Ferry Christmas parade. Buried in the story was the observation that “a check of a convenience store along the parade route found nobody had asked to buy 10,000 marbles please, assuring there would be no Animal House-style hijinks on this afternoon.” The editors stripped it out.
When I penned an article about a local audiology company’s expansion (yes – just TRY to make THAT interesting), I opened it with a silly reference to Will Ferrell’s “Elf” character asking his fellow dinner guests, “Did you hear that?” My wife, wisely, said I should probably refrain from any movie references in my reports, which I did. Thank you, darling!
But consarnit! I haven’t convinced the Journal to let me publish a weekly slice-of-life column. They have, however, given me one of their few blog spots, and I’m very grateful. (Please don’t interpret anything in this essay as being anti-Journal – the folks there have treated me very very well and appreciate what I’ve done for them. I have NO complaints!)
So I’m starting to blog on the Journal’s website at http://www.journal-news.com. The cool thing about this is the readership. Each week, dozens read my Journal-News blog, as opposed to the 5 or 10 hits I get a week on this wordpress blog.
Therefore, until further notice, my new blog site will be at http://www.journal-news.net. Click on ‘blogs’ and you’ll see my essays.
And watch the “about me” space closely, for it is there I hope to make an announcement about my employment status before the end of January, 2010.
Those of you who have followed this blog (all three of you!), thank you kindly. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading my musings. And I hope you’ll follow me to the new blog location.
And on that note, it is off to the Journal-News blogs to digress a time or two…
