So I'll admit that as a college student I frequently used my looks to get me into and out of trouble. I've flirted my way into the computer lab after hours, played 'damsel in distress' and even sweet-talked a professor or two into giving me an extension for the paper I desperately needed more time for.
Unfortunately, the fun stopped after college when I chose a writing career.
In the world of print you are stripped of all physical attributes. You are a name that sits on the top of the paper. Your gender might be ascertained, but not much else-- unless you're a doctor or something.
You are face-less. And regardless of how polite we want to be, people judge others based upon what they look like.
Lets run through an example real quick.
The other day, I had to interview this doctor for an article I was writing. I get to his office and there's some initial confusion as to who I am. I tell them I'm the reporter and I have an interview appointment with the doctor. I ask questions, he answers them and at the end he asks me uncomfortably, "So are you writing this article?" Yes, I tell him, that's what reporters do. "Oh, I just thought..."
I can only assume what it was that he thought, but he was surprised that I was a writer. I probably look too cute to be capable of producing a coherent article about a complicated surgical procedure.
What I love about writing, is that once your article runs, your writing is the only thing that people can judge you upon.
I get emails all the time from people commenting upon my articles-- my articles. It's a rewarding feeling, to know that your work is appreciated solely upon its own merits.
In the print world, there are no Paris Hiltons. If something is trash, all the money in the world can't glam it up. A pretty smile and fashionable clothing won't do a damn thing to make a terrible writer better.
Unfortunately, the fun stopped after college when I chose a writing career.
In the world of print you are stripped of all physical attributes. You are a name that sits on the top of the paper. Your gender might be ascertained, but not much else-- unless you're a doctor or something.
You are face-less. And regardless of how polite we want to be, people judge others based upon what they look like.
Lets run through an example real quick.
The other day, I had to interview this doctor for an article I was writing. I get to his office and there's some initial confusion as to who I am. I tell them I'm the reporter and I have an interview appointment with the doctor. I ask questions, he answers them and at the end he asks me uncomfortably, "So are you writing this article?" Yes, I tell him, that's what reporters do. "Oh, I just thought..."
I can only assume what it was that he thought, but he was surprised that I was a writer. I probably look too cute to be capable of producing a coherent article about a complicated surgical procedure.
What I love about writing, is that once your article runs, your writing is the only thing that people can judge you upon.
I get emails all the time from people commenting upon my articles-- my articles. It's a rewarding feeling, to know that your work is appreciated solely upon its own merits.
In the print world, there are no Paris Hiltons. If something is trash, all the money in the world can't glam it up. A pretty smile and fashionable clothing won't do a damn thing to make a terrible writer better.