There are several reasons to write pieces for magazines and newspapers if you are a creative writer. The obvious ones are that any writing is good practice, be it poetry or prose of any sort. If you’re a writer, you write, they say — and as far as I’m concerned, even my blog counts.
But of course, writing journalistic pieces that get published in different places than those you are normally seen in, is another way to promote yourself and your work. In that way, you reach people you may never have reached otherwise, and if they like what you’re saying, well, they just might buy a book or two. That’s the theory, at least.
The most important reason, though, is that — hopefully — you have something to say. I’m happy to report that my work in and with Cambodia is leaving me with lots to talk about. I’ve written a bit here about my thoughts on arts education and social change. But now I am getting to develop those thoughts for a new audience and over the next month or so, I’ll have a couple of articles appearing in magazines.
First, let me introduce the new, glossy magazine dedicated to all things Asian: AGI: Asian Global Impact. In its November issue, now out, I have an article in the Education section about Creative Writing in Cambodia. Although the article is not available on line, the magazine is very well priced and you can buy an issue here via the website or in all sorts of news agents. Besides my own article (of course) the issue is filled with other fascinating pieces, ranging from politics to fashion, from Sri Lanka to Burma to Japan to Mongolia to Cambodia and back again.
And next month, I have another article coming out in another publication. I’ll tell you about that later. But in the meantime, I’m finding I really do like writing these kinds of pieces. I look forward to having the chance to do more of them.
Wonderful. I look forward to reading it. xxx