editorial processes.

The Starting Point.

For my editorial pieces, I’ll sometimes use Reddit as a starting point, because I’m specifically interested in the biases that I see from commenters about specific events. For my Repression piece, I first saw Ethel Cain’s Tumblr post on a subreddit (a reddit forum) called r/EthelCain. For months, there was discussion about the repression of anti-intellectualism and the use of jokes surrounding her work - unfortunately, much more so than discussion of her actual work, like her most recent album, Perverts.

I joined the subreddit, not because I fully agree with their perspectives, but because it allowed for me to have some up-close critical insight into how her fans argue with each other. I see how they dissect, discuss and mythologise everything surrounding Ethel Cain in real time. Observing this helps me analyse the psychology behind fandom dynamics, and the intersection of art and anti-intellectualism.

When I observe this, I try to come up with a message that I can communicate. And sometimes, my message will involve things that I’ve already read…

Photo Credit: Framestore/His Dark Materials/HBO

First Draft.

Then, I get to writing my first draft. If it’s for a think piece, it will usually involve me writing an opening to introduce the message that I want to communicate. If there are three ‘sub-messages’ that I want to write to support my main message, then I’ll usually delve deeper into these sections, while also trying to link back to my main argument.

I’ll also structure the sub-messages into a kind of timeline. For the Projection piece about reality TV, I first introduced my own experience with watching reality TV with my housemates. But then I will gradually sprinkle in hints of a deeper thesis to add tension and curiosity.

If I’m writing a review, I’ll usually try to convey the message that I interpreted from whatever I watched. With the Dirk Gently play I saw at the Annex Theatre, there were some candid, vulnerable scenes sprinkled between the fun chaos. So I thought it would be worth imitating that structure myself for the review- this would decidedly be the best way to structure my own piece. But I’ll also make it informal, since it’s a fun play! I don’t try to make all of my articles think pieces, because I’ll usually try to match the tone of what I’m reviewing or analysing. For my reality TV piece, I tried to ‘read the room’ in the sphere of reality TV. Contestants have a cutthroat, catty tone, so I thought I would utilise a similar tone to analyse why we enjoy seeing them like that.

Photo Credit: Steve Johnson, Pexels

Time Management.

The Pomodoro technique has been a lifesaver for me (25 minutes work, & 5 minutes breaktime). I will usually write my drafts using this method.

When I have a big think piece that goes in-depth, I will often spend time researching and compiling evidence and hyperlinks for the audience’s accessibility. When I read articles online, I love when there are hyperlinked sentences that lead me to another relevant article, youtube video, or even a tweet. For example, in my Repression article, I hyperlinked a tweet from J.K. Rowling that denied Nazi repression of the Sexology Institute. If someone reads that it happened, I’d hate if they had to search for it themselves- it’s much easier if everything is there already so that they can understand my point quickly.

I will then spend time rewriting, rewording and refining, and the time I spend it proportional to the length of the piece. However, the strong marks I have achieved during my ongoing degree have shown my ability to manage time and meet deadlines effectively.

For academic papers and essays, I am perfectly fine with walls of text. But when it’s for a website/newspaper that should be more accessible to the public, I prefer seeing relevant pictures to intensify and reaffirm the image that the articles create for me. So I try to find fun, colourful images that I sometimes evaluate in the article itself, like the picture of ‘unhappy couple’ Whitney and Duka from Married at First Sight UK. This breaks up the text into lighter, more readable sections. And I will always credit the photos where credit is due, even if it takes an extensive search around the internet.

Then, I will proofread repeatedly, until I think the flow is strong and there are no errors in grammar, facts or my thesis. For more thoughtful, extensive articles, I believe that a bibliography is necessary. But considering that many articles that I’ve read from Conde Nast’s outlets, from the Financial Times, from the Guardian, from Elle Magazine etc. do not have bibliographies like academic papers do, I can be more lenient with reviews and articles like Projection. That is my general process for writing an article, whatever the topic or tone!

Photo Credit: Screenshot of subreddit r/EthelCain, and its header

My research will often involve analysis of primary and secondary sources. My ongoing degree in English with Creative writing has rigorously taught me to see the bigger picture in my theses- specifically, if I read a single text (or compare two from different times!), then I’ll usually relate it to a wider trend, either during the time it was written, or even throughout all of history. If I see discourse surrounding a topic like Ethel Cain’s artistry, I will explore themes like repression and sincerity, whether it be through reading Philip Pullman’s Northern Lights, or a video of a Billie Eilish concert, where she looks almost ambivalent towards the crowd jokingly sing ‘What Was I Made For?’ to the lyrics of the viral AI-generated cat that meowed the melody. When I’m writing an article, I will make sure to include discourse about the main evidence that I give, like historian Lucy Hughes-Hallett’s introduction to Pullman’s entire book series, His Dark Materials.

Photo Credit: Hulu Thumbnail for Kitchen Nightmares

Photo Credit: Stephen McNutt, Samy Inayeh and John Pardue, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, Netflix

Redrafting and Redrafting.

Of course, my first draft will not be perfect. I will sometimes allocate a set time to leave the draft alone. If I’m under a limited amount of time (like 24 hours or so), I will leave the draft for a few hours so that I can revisit it as if it’s someone else’s work. This helps me to let go of any perfectionist tendencies I have, and just focus on refining the piece at hand.

I will usually self-edit multiple times, because I will usually correct typos and sentence structure first. However, if I come up with a way of strengthening my whole thesis, I will sometimes rewrite my sub-theses entirely, just so that I can match it to my now-stronger argument.