I've just put this on wetpixel in response to someone who had posted a question about feeling insecure about underwater photography competitions and stuff.
I guess the pictures advice applies equally to writing for magazines. Replace the someone / your friends with 'the editor' and you'll get the gist. There are no rules as to what works as far as writing is concerned. Sure, there are heaps of books out there that try and tell you, but the bottom line is, they're mostly boring, are poorly written, have been put together by someone without a track record and continuly blab on about past particples, verbs and adjectives and stuff.
Anyway, here's the post:
Rule number one:
If it looks good on your wall, or someone else likes it enough to ask if they can have a picture for their wall, then you have done good.
Rule number two:
Don't bother with advice from people who want to babble on in some kind of super-geek language, they're more interested in showing off that they know loads of 'stuff' about something you probably don't need to know about, than genuinely helping you develop your skills.
Rule number three:
When you begin it can take quite a while to get over the scathing feedback of those in rule number two. I'd just come third in the BSoUP 1995 Beginner's Portfolio competition in London and the front row people (very important front row people - VIFRP) asked each one of us who had come 1st to 3rd, to stand up infront of our photographs and do a self critique. Mine went something like this, and bear in mind I wasn't ready for this and had supped about 5 pints of something which had a name like 'Futtocks Old Dirigable.'
Me: Erm, well I kind of like this one 'cos it's on one of my friend's bathroom wall, and his kids love the fish on it.
VIFRP: Yes, but it's not moving anywhere, the fish has no-where to go.
Me: it's a photograph, it's not supposed to move.
VIFRP: But it needs some space.
Me: Yeh, whatever, anyway, this one is one all my mates like, they say it looks like a hand reaching up into the blue, and the divers and the boat make it seem like the hand is massive.
VIFRP: Yes, but it doesn't follow the rule of thirds.
Me: Rule of what?
And so it went on, after a few minutes more I stood down, deflated and determined to drink more beer.
A few months later DIVER published the hand reaching... shot on their front cover. I cancelled my membership to BSoUP and for the past 13 years have been very happy in my ignorance. My stuff still looks good on the wall, at least I think so, and isn't that all that matters?
End of post
So, you see, you don't need to impress the VIFRP, just the editor, he or she is the one that will decide whether your stuff is good enough to, 'hang on the wall.'
Keep writing....
Brendan
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