Why I write for CliqueClack

The thing I like most about my job is that I can interview people I respect like Dule Hill, sit in on conference calls with Michael Vartan, watch kickass virtual tours, review shows people no longer watch, and hang out with geeks that argue for 20 posts over whether Charlie Brown is an abysmal glass-half-empty loser or a childhood realist. In the immortal words of Linus Van Pelt, “Three things I don’t talk about: Religion, Politics, and the Great Pumpkin.”

I’ll admit it was rough-going at first. The writer’s bullpen — aka the email list — is a little insane. Yet, realizing I needed to shift from the MLA to the APA standard (when our lovely editor alerted me to the fact) definitely helped. However, I enjoy writing for CliqueClack because I respect the well thought-out, original content by fellow writers who love television. Who doesn’t enjoy plugging in (on a daily — sometimes by the hour or by the minute — basis) with people who feel as passionately about TV as you do? Half the CC staff either worked in media (print or radio), publishing local articles or serving as on-air talent, in entertainment, as bloggers, or just as kickass commenters who Keith brought over from the “dark side” by saying “come with me if you want to live.” And, we all said OK. And, here we are.

As a pseudo-writer (but, not really), I like the idea of standards. While we practically have tabula rasa in posting/reviewing what interests us, outside of the writers’ self-instated principles, I enjoy knowing that an editor reviews the article and not everything I type will pass the initial stage (but, seriously, knowing more outside of CC 101 would also help, guys). If my title is slightly off or a sentence a bit askew, a magical elf sprinkles fairy dust to clarify an item I might’ve missed. But, I know not to abuse it. I frequently fear finding a carload of Boston-ites waiting outside my apartment with accents and a love of the Red Sox.

Another nice part of CliqueClack includes the community of readers who continuously return. I love when people leave comments and interact with each other in a very Cheers-esque way. Plus, when article criticism or opinion disagreements occur, they typically instate without cursing or insults. As the internet allows anonymity, people tend to forget flesh and blood humans exist behind the electronic typeface (and also forget to act as such). I won’t lie. I am definitely more aware of the human factor, although I probably was not two years ago, when I interact with other sites.

Is it all sun, roses, and candy canes wrapped in sugar encased in glittery thigh-highs? No. Sometimes I am a lazy writer. Sometimes I hate finding the proper image (when certain networks’ sites are difficult to cycle through), resizing it to 425 pixels wide, figuring out image credit (if the network did not provide a shot), and epguides-ing the episode name and number. Yea, it’s our job, but on a two-post weekly basis (100-posts monthly, if you’re Aryeh), it adds up. All in all, it takes me around two to four hours to write an article. Why so long? Because I’m unnecessarily obsessive between reviewing my notes, constructing a tenuous thesis, intertwining my notes, and then re-reading two to four times. Could I divide that time in half (including my article length)? Probably, particularly considering half my articles aren’t truly the Raymond Carter prose I desired.

So, why do I write for CliqueClack? Um, did you read the first half of the article? You know, where I detailed the awesome people, the great readers, and the kickass writing staff? Writing that Haven review with Carissa was a blast. I love Ruby and Julia’s Merlin obsession. The new (and old) writers are awesome. Plus, as television-oriented marketing/public relations firms are increasingly focused on new media, that leaves more opportunities for sites such as CliqueClack. So, that’s why I write. So, if you ever want to guest clack, now you know.

Any questions/comments/suggestions? Leave them below. I’ll be here all week.

Clacked by An Nicholson
on Oct 31, 2010 @ 12:00 EST5EDT