The first piece I ever had published at University didn’t have my name on it. My reviews editor, a man who resembled Paul Weller after he plummeted out of a very tall tree, ‘edited me’. As I recall the largest edit job he did was removing my byline but still, apparently, that was enough to …
As a critic you’re different things to some people; to readers you’re a canary, seeking out what they’re not sure of. To the text you’re talking about you’re either an asset or a massive problem, depending on how you find it. To people who vehemently disagree with you you’re an opponent. But most of all …
Make a list, say five lines long, two vertical columns like this one. Don’t think too hard about it, just write down five genres under each column: GENRES I LOVE GENRES I HATE Now, for every one movie you watch on the left? Watch two on the right. If you’re going to write about …
My first published journalism was a CD review of a single by Ed Alleyne-Johnson. It was in the Manx Independent. I got the job by pitching them a regular music review and pitching the local independent music store the idea of a regular free feature. Since then I’ve done 150 word film reviews for a …