[stylist] Eve, op-ed

[Chris Kuell]

Hi Eve,

Of course, it's perfectly fine that you felt the muse, as I think of it, and let your fingers take down the thoughts that went through your mind. This type of writing is common on personal web sites, journals, blogs, and social networking sites. I keep a personal journal (I'm much too private to post it for the world) where I do that kind of writing. 
At other times, I write in a more formal way, or in a way that I think might be publishable. One avenue for this is op-ed pieces, or opinion-editorial pieces, which appear in newspapers every day. I've had at least a half a dozen of these published, often in several newspapers, and have even been paid $100 or so for each. The topics were the need for accessible ATM machines; the need for accessible voting; the need for more Braille instruction in our schools;how unconstitutional it was when Bush stole the presidency in 2000; the need for us all to act 'green'; and what a great theatre department our local high school has. In these pieces, I expressed my opinions, and except for the one about high school theatre, I had to back up my opinions with facts. Even when the facts weren't cited, the editors wanted to know where I got them.

So, in reading your piece, it reminded me of an op-ed piece, that's all.In giving feedback, I thought of it that way. In general, when I give feedback, I think of how to make a piece publishable. Perhaps that's wrong, but it's my default thinking.

chris