Dear readers, are you keeping up with what’s happening in Iran? Where are you getting your news? From Twitter? Or traditional media outlets? Will you come meet me in NYC for Meet The Blogger day? OH! And don’t forget, tonight is TweetChat! 8-9:30. Will I see you there?
As always, I’d love to hear from you!
I got an email from a dear reader yesterday. And she was a bit frantic.
She’s just published a short piece in a national entertainment magazine. (Yay!)
She sent off a thank you email to the editor, (good job!), and asked about pitching more stories. The editor invited her to start pitching. (Yay!)
And then she freaked out.
What to pitch!? She started flipping through the magazine, hands on her keyboard, ready to dash off an email with tons of great story ideas.
Luckily, before she pressed send, she emailed me:
Hey Aliya!How are ya? I’m kind of in a bind. Do you have any advice for generating story ideas? I got the green light to start pitching [NAME REDACTED] But I think my ideas are wack or they already have them covered, which means they’re not original. I can write. I know this. Pitching is my problem!!! Ughhhh.
I told homegirl to step away from the keyboard. She was about to make a grave mistake.
Hey people.
Can I be not-so-nice for a moment? I sort of feel like I’m kind and friendly and helpful here in the blogosphere. ‘Least I try to be. And I love my online family.
But out there, in the real world? I get some of the most inane questions about writing and the writing process. Sometimes, it makes me want to smack someone. Or at least write a blog post about it. But I don’t. ‘Cause I don’t want people to think I’m not kind and friendly and helpful.
This is all going somewhere. I promise.
Watch it, sucka!
When I asked Kim for some guest blog ideas, she sent me several. And they were all awesome. But the Angry Black Woman Syndrome particularly caught my eye. There’s long been a stereotype, (based in truth?) that Black women are more difficult than others. Is this fact? Fiction? Somewhere in between? Kim thought she was on one side of the debate. Her husband thought differently.
Good stuff here. Check it:
A few weeks ago, I got into a discussion on Twitter with writer Touré.
For those of you who don’t know him, a bit of backstory:
Touré is one of the patron saints of entertainment writing. He’s written stunning profiles of Lauryn Hill and DMX for Rolling Stone. I’ve dutifully followed his byline since long before I ever copped my own.
He’s a dope writer.
I strongly suggest you cop Never Drank The Kool-Aid, a collection of some of his best pieces. You won’t love them all. But whether you’re new or just starting out in writing, you’ll learn something.
He’s also delved into fiction. I got an advance copy of his novel Soul City when it was released a few years ago. It went way over my head. Didn’t like it. (If you read it and understood it, feel free to tell me about it).
No matter. I love his work. I’m in awe of his career trajectory. And I’m a big old unabashed fan.
So, a few weeks back, I’m checking out the Twitter feed. And I see that Touré is talking back and forth with up and coming writers about the future of journalism. A sample of his Tweets:
 | Anonymous on A Conversation with…Mike… |
| Anonymous on A Conversation with…Mike… |
 | CRICT on The Critique: Tyler Perry As… |
 | Bernard Crosby on Regrets: Malcolm Shabazz |
 | Toby G on Be My Guest: Tara Pringle… |
Aliya S. King 