AboutJay Magoo (a pseudonym) Expertise I can answer questions about how newspapers determine what is news and what isn`t, about protocol in dealing with editors and other reporters, about the best way to use news sources and public records, and about how to survive in the ultra-competitive world that newspapers exist in today.
Experience I worked for 28 years as a reporter and an editor. Most of my career was with two major metropolitan newspapers in the Northeastern United States. Now retired.
Organizations Sigma Delta Chi
Education/Credentials University of Pennsylvania, Bachelor of Arts in English
Question Hi. I'll more than likely have more questions later. And sorry about not being specific. I had a feeling that I wasn't sure what I was asking you either. I've done some thinking for the past few days (and lots of sprawling), so I want to start by finding out what his job title is and its functions. He should be a writer who does things such as research, promotional articles, puffery pieces... in short, it's a demanding job that drains him of his creative gifts. He doesn't like what he writes for the magazine, let alone read it. This is an up-and-coming magazine so it's multi-tasking. Their hands are full; they're overworked. It's not a hostile environment... it's John who's the frustrated idealist. He begins to loathe his job, his existence, even his closest friends because he doesn't agree with their movie reviews or politics... mostly because he has trouble facing the blank page of his unfinished novel. The premise (for now) is he who digs a pit for others falls into it himself. He's not combative by heart, but lately he's been unhappy with his job and, since this is a comedy, I was thinking that it'll explode into some Howard Beale shtick that'll become bigger and almost engulf his existence (and soul). I'm only beginning to flesh out the screenplay because I wrote the first draft but it fell flat during the middle act. Too many silly story turns, no direction, and it was only ninety pages. So what is the job title? Writer? Journalist? Who does he serve? The chain of command...
You mentioned "covering an entertainment beat." Can you name any specific assignments? How are they assigned? And do people in this profession pace themselves or is it a badger digging sort of thing? Thanks! Daniel
Answer You want to write about a man whose profession is his identity, yet you don't really know enough about what he does. His angst drives him, you say, and you tell me about his frustrations. Give me specifics and I might be able to help you.
What specific incidents bring all this about?
It seems to me, and I've written a fair amount of (commercially unsuccessful) fiction, that we have to start with some specifics of his life, one or two (preferably one) specific problem, and that was why I asked you to submit direct questions to me about details of his life.
I don't want to write an essay for you about the life of an entertainment reporter. If I started such a project I might be tempted to keep it for myself and develop it into a character for a story I might then decide to write.
To use an analogy, if I wanted to write a story about a man who was in a logging camp in the Pacific Northwest, I would first find out how people in that logging camp are organized. Who was the boss, how were the teams organized, how did the men organize themselves socially in off-hours. Then I'd want to place my characters in that situation and given each character's unique persona, I would have them reacting to each other. I would, through research, determine what kind of people are found in logging camps, what motivates them, and how they behave. I would learn exactly what the most common and pressing issues of life in a logging camp are. The pressures of the work, of course, would drive the action, just like the pressures of publication drive the action in your plot.
Do you know how a newspaper office, or a magazine editorial office, is organized? Do you know who does what? Are you familiar with some of the highly neurotic creative types that might be found there?
You've given me a kind of general overview of your main character and what he likes and dislikes about his life. But to make it move, you should have him move through specific problems and situations. There I can help you. Ask general questions and I'm really at a loss.
It seems to me an author really needs to know more about his character's life and duties than the character does. I spent most of my adult life in newspaper offices and I'll be glad to help you. But telling me your character is frustrated by having to do research and write puff pieces, all of which drains him of his creative energy doesn't give me much to go on. I've written enough puff pieces in my early days to paper the walls of a large house, and I've spent countless hours in research, much of which was rejected. It goes with the territory, and reporters who don't like research don't do well.
You say he's an idealist. Who is his ideal? George Bush? Bertrand Russell? Ghandi?
How do you get to where I can help you? Research, even though you think it might drain your creative energies, will tell you what your character's life in the editorial department of a magazine is like, day to day. Who is his boss? Are his co-workers back-stabbing or supportive?
Is he married with a baby at home? Is he cheating on his wife? Is that gorgeous little cupcake at the next desk flirting with him?
Are some assignments better than others? Why? How does he react? What does your main character really want to do when he grows up? Why doesn't he just do it?
