Juliet Izon on What She Learned From Writing About Celebrity Gossip<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\nWhen I was twenty-two, and strangers used to ask what I did for work, I lied.<\/span><\/p>\nArticle continues after advertisement<\/span>
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\n<\/p>\n\u201cI work for a weekly news magazine,\u201d I\u2019d say.<\/span><\/p>\nNow, strictly speaking, this wasn\u2019t a total lie, more one of omission. Because when you say \u201cweekly news magazine,\u201d people think of \u2026 <\/span>Newsweek<\/span><\/i>. And while I never had any aspirations to be a hard news or even a political reporter, I was still embarrassed to reveal what kind of news I <\/span>did<\/span><\/i> cover. Breaking news in my world, you see, never had to do with coups, unless it was the kind featured on <\/span>Real Housewives<\/span><\/i>: I was a <\/span>celebrity<\/span><\/i> news reporter. Or\u2014I still have to swallow hard to say it\u2014gossip reporter.<\/span><\/p>\nAs a journalist, I will die on the hill that your story, whatever it may be, will be better if you interview experts, whomever they may be.<\/span><\/p>\nThat term, and its implications, never sat easily with me. While I love a juicy bit of insider info, I never wanted to be the one to blast it out to literally<\/span> millions of people. But I said yes to the role because I was desperate to be in magazine journalism, and I was already despondent in my current gig as an assistant media planner for a huge advertising firm (they gave me a calculator during onboarding; I knew I needed to leave immediately).<\/span><\/p>\nArticle continues after advertisement<\/span>\n<\/div>\nBut now, over a decade removed from my tenure thrusting microphones in people\u2019s faces on red carpets; surreptitiously making note of what Grammy and Oscar winners were eating for dinner in New York\u2019s West Village; and becoming an expert at hunting for famous people\u2019s friends and family on social media, I can also see that my rather unorthodox training as a reporter and editor has been extraordinarily useful when writing my debut novel<\/span>, The Encore<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nAnd while most of you will never know the agony (and the ecstasy!) of covering a New York Fashion Week, much of what I learned pounding the pavement as a celebrity reporter can be distilled into lessons that are applicable to all stripes of writers, whether you\u2019re writing fiction or nonfiction, articles or essays.<\/span><\/p>\nAsk the questions no one is asking
<\/b>I don\u2019t care if you\u2019re only writing high fantasy: as a journalist, I will die on the hill that your story, whatever it may be, will be better if you interview experts, whomever they may be. In my career as both a gossip reporter and later as a lifestyle-focused journalist, I have interviewed hundreds of bold-faced names, from billionaires to heartthrobs. And often, during a press campaign, they\u2019re being asked the same question dozens of times a day, which means their enthusiasm for <\/span>your<\/span><\/i> questions may be non-existent. But do you know the best way to perk someone up? Ask them something fully unrelated to whatever they\u2019re promoting.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nOne of my favorite tales related to this tactic was when I was doing what\u2019s called a \u201cmeet and greet\u201d with a then-teen heartthrob. Our conversation turned unexpectedly to our shared (and deep, abiding) love of cats. Not only did he agree to do an article with us after that meeting, but we stayed friends for a few years. Every time he liked a photo on my Instagram, there would be a flurry of teen girls who would comment on it after. I felt quite special by association.<\/span><\/p>\nMy job, bluntly, was to spy, but to do it in a way that wasn\u2019t baldly obvious either.<\/span><\/p>\nArticle continues after advertisement<\/span>\n<\/div>\nBut okay, I\u2019m getting off track: how does this apply to other writers? Any time you\u2019re interviewing someone, it\u2019s important not to just see them for their expertise, but as a whole human being. Take the time at the start of your call or meeting to throw a few softball questions, offer up some unique details about yourself as well. You\u2019ll be amazed how much smoother the chat goes when you\u2019ve taken the time to dig a bit deeper. And often, you\u2019ll be rewarded with an anecdote or piece of info you wouldn\u2019t have unearthed otherwise.<\/span><\/p>\nLearn how to read a room
<\/b>One of my jobs as a very junior reporter on the nightlife beat was just to be\u2026out at night. Mondays I\u2019d post up at a popular club; Tuesdays were for dining at the bar of a restaurant that wasn\u2019t secret, but not <\/span>not<\/span><\/i> a secret either; Thursdays\u2026well, you get the picture. My job, bluntly, was to spy, but to do it in a way that wasn\u2019t baldly obvious either. As such, I am still extremely fast when I scan a room; I can spot a friend (or a celebrity!) basically instantaneously. But oftentimes, I was doing this weird recon alone, which meant I had a lot of time to stare at all the patrons, not just the ones that we might put on the cover of the magazine.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nI know this is a little creepy. But it also made me far more interested in decoding body language; in the ways that humans communicate without ever saying a word. A flick of the wrist, an arch of an eyebrow\u2014it was a fascinating education in nonverbal cues. Later, when I started drafting my first novel, I thought back to those many nights at whatever bar or club, and what I learned about relationships without even overhearing a conversation. So many of my characters\u2019 gestures or physical interactions are grounded in what I learned from those long nights of reporting.<\/span><\/p>\nAnd while I wouldn\u2019t wish a solo night of club hunting on anyone, you can do this at your local coffeeshop or cafe quite easily. How does that couple on a first date interact? Are they leaning into one another or away? Why does she have her arms crossed and why is he nervously drumming on the table? Take notes! Make a whole dictionary of gestures, if you want to. It will be an invaluable tool in your show-don\u2019t-tell arsenal.<\/span><\/p>\nI don\u2019t miss the late nights I passed closing magazine issues, or the frantic transcribing of interviews to make sure a story gets up online in time, or other things that I legitimately had to sign an NDA about. But I am grateful for how my very first job in media gave me the skills to communicate better: in person and through the spoken word.\u00a0<\/span>As for how many <\/span>Housewives<\/span><\/i> cell phone numbers I have in my address book? That I\u2019ll never tell.<\/span><\/p>\n
When I was twenty-two, and strangers used to ask what I did for work, I lied.<\/span><\/p>\n Article continues after advertisement<\/span>
\u201cI work for a weekly news magazine,\u201d I\u2019d say.<\/span><\/p>\n Now, strictly speaking, this wasn\u2019t a total lie, more one of omission. Because when you say \u201cweekly news magazine,\u201d people think of \u2026 <\/span>Newsweek<\/span><\/i>. And while I never had any aspirations to be a hard news or even a political reporter, I was still embarrassed to reveal what kind of news I <\/span>did<\/span><\/i> cover. Breaking news in my world, you see, never had to do with coups, unless it was the kind featured on <\/span>Real Housewives<\/span><\/i>: I was a <\/span>celebrity<\/span><\/i> news reporter. Or\u2014I still have to swallow hard to say it\u2014gossip reporter.<\/span><\/p>\n As a journalist, I will die on the hill that your story, whatever it may be, will be better if you interview experts, whomever they may be.<\/span><\/p>\n That term, and its implications, never sat easily with me. While I love a juicy bit of insider info, I never wanted to be the one to blast it out to literally<\/span> millions of people. But I said yes to the role because I was desperate to be in magazine journalism, and I was already despondent in my current gig as an assistant media planner for a huge advertising firm (they gave me a calculator during onboarding; I knew I needed to leave immediately).<\/span><\/p>\n But now, over a decade removed from my tenure thrusting microphones in people\u2019s faces on red carpets; surreptitiously making note of what Grammy and Oscar winners were eating for dinner in New York\u2019s West Village; and becoming an expert at hunting for famous people\u2019s friends and family on social media, I can also see that my rather unorthodox training as a reporter and editor has been extraordinarily useful when writing my debut novel<\/span>, The Encore<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n And while most of you will never know the agony (and the ecstasy!) of covering a New York Fashion Week, much of what I learned pounding the pavement as a celebrity reporter can be distilled into lessons that are applicable to all stripes of writers, whether you\u2019re writing fiction or nonfiction, articles or essays.<\/span><\/p>\n Ask the questions no one is asking One of my favorite tales related to this tactic was when I was doing what\u2019s called a \u201cmeet and greet\u201d with a then-teen heartthrob. Our conversation turned unexpectedly to our shared (and deep, abiding) love of cats. Not only did he agree to do an article with us after that meeting, but we stayed friends for a few years. Every time he liked a photo on my Instagram, there would be a flurry of teen girls who would comment on it after. I felt quite special by association.<\/span><\/p>\n My job, bluntly, was to spy, but to do it in a way that wasn\u2019t baldly obvious either.<\/span><\/p>\n But okay, I\u2019m getting off track: how does this apply to other writers? Any time you\u2019re interviewing someone, it\u2019s important not to just see them for their expertise, but as a whole human being. Take the time at the start of your call or meeting to throw a few softball questions, offer up some unique details about yourself as well. You\u2019ll be amazed how much smoother the chat goes when you\u2019ve taken the time to dig a bit deeper. And often, you\u2019ll be rewarded with an anecdote or piece of info you wouldn\u2019t have unearthed otherwise.<\/span><\/p>\n Learn how to read a room I know this is a little creepy. But it also made me far more interested in decoding body language; in the ways that humans communicate without ever saying a word. A flick of the wrist, an arch of an eyebrow\u2014it was a fascinating education in nonverbal cues. Later, when I started drafting my first novel, I thought back to those many nights at whatever bar or club, and what I learned about relationships without even overhearing a conversation. So many of my characters\u2019 gestures or physical interactions are grounded in what I learned from those long nights of reporting.<\/span><\/p>\n And while I wouldn\u2019t wish a solo night of club hunting on anyone, you can do this at your local coffeeshop or cafe quite easily. How does that couple on a first date interact? Are they leaning into one another or away? Why does she have her arms crossed and why is he nervously drumming on the table? Take notes! Make a whole dictionary of gestures, if you want to. It will be an invaluable tool in your show-don\u2019t-tell arsenal.<\/span><\/p>\n I don\u2019t miss the late nights I passed closing magazine issues, or the frantic transcribing of interviews to make sure a story gets up online in time, or other things that I legitimately had to sign an NDA about. But I am grateful for how my very first job in media gave me the skills to communicate better: in person and through the spoken word.\u00a0<\/span>As for how many <\/span>Housewives<\/span><\/i> cell phone numbers I have in my address book? That I\u2019ll never tell.<\/span><\/p>\n
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<\/b>I don\u2019t care if you\u2019re only writing high fantasy: as a journalist, I will die on the hill that your story, whatever it may be, will be better if you interview experts, whomever they may be. In my career as both a gossip reporter and later as a lifestyle-focused journalist, I have interviewed hundreds of bold-faced names, from billionaires to heartthrobs. And often, during a press campaign, they\u2019re being asked the same question dozens of times a day, which means their enthusiasm for <\/span>your<\/span><\/i> questions may be non-existent. But do you know the best way to perk someone up? Ask them something fully unrelated to whatever they\u2019re promoting.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/b>One of my jobs as a very junior reporter on the nightlife beat was just to be\u2026out at night. Mondays I\u2019d post up at a popular club; Tuesdays were for dining at the bar of a restaurant that wasn\u2019t secret, but not <\/span>not<\/span><\/i> a secret either; Thursdays\u2026well, you get the picture. My job, bluntly, was to spy, but to do it in a way that wasn\u2019t baldly obvious either. As such, I am still extremely fast when I scan a room; I can spot a friend (or a celebrity!) basically instantaneously. But oftentimes, I was doing this weird recon alone, which meant I had a lot of time to stare at all the patrons, not just the ones that we might put on the cover of the magazine.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
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