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Monday, 16 April 2012
Why?
In my previous (and first) blog post I tried to explain, to those of you who know me well, and those who know me not at all, exactly who I am and what I do (in a professional capacity, not the day to day stuff!) In this post I shall tackle the
why?
Some people begin writing later in their lives, but for a majority of people who choose to make a life, and a living, from their writing, it's something that they have always "done". Our limitless online community means that anyone can now write for a blog, e-zine or other website and even publish whole novels with ease and without restraint.
To be a writer is no longer glamorous or unusual (if indeed it ever was), and to describe Ones self as a Professional Writer no longer tells a soul anything about what One does to earn a crust. "Professional Writers" can now be full (or even part) time bloggers, novelists, journalists, and indeed, wedding correspondents, many of whom may well be using the Internet as their main platform for reaching an audience. It's all very exciting!
Those working with other art forms also have a strong online presence, with everyone from painters, photographers, singers and sculptors, making their work accessible to an infinite number of people, on a global scale. What I do, this blog aside, is relatively old fashioned in the literary world, if only because I still use a pen! (a real pen, not a smart pen or stylus)
WHY WEDDING CORRESPONDENCE?
As I mentioned in my previous blog post, wedding correspondence, or the production of written wedding reports, was not my idea. I have never been known to state that it was my idea either, however, what I write will never be the same as that which could be produced by another writer. In the same way that if we were all asked to draw the same rabbit, we would all draw him to look slightly different, based on our ability and artistic style, so nobody would record the same wedding in the same manner. It is this which makes this market place an exciting one and one which doesn't really encourage competition, so much as a showcase of writing styles, it is a market place which I genuinely hope to see more talented and varied writers join, and certainly one which I was eager to get involved in myself. Still in it's infant stages in the UK, written wedding reportage is only provided by a handful of British writers, which is a shame for our engaged couples.
I have been engaged to my darling John for over a year now (feels like a mixture of forever and no.time.at.all!)and I first heard of wedding reportage on a Spanish wedding blog, where the practice of either writing ones own report, or asking a professional writer to produce a report on behalf of the Bride and Groom, is certainly not unheard of. After some research I found several individuals and small companies offering differing forms of wedding reportage in the UK. This included reporters who would attend a wedding and record their observations of the day and present their notes in a written report, and others who would interview a couple and their guests after the event, often over the telephone, to produce a more cost-effective interview style of report.
As a writer myself I decided that I would be kind to my wedding budget and write my own report, and publish it as a hard back book, as I had been inspired to do by writers offering to do so for other engaged couples. Since then, I have been carefully planning exactly how I'm going to do so (as much as I love my notebook, it would not look great at the alter, me, pen in hand, scribbling away in between the vows and exchange of rings!)
The more I considered this, the more I realised that my passion for weddings, and I mean passion, coupled with the enjoyment that I get from writing, and my yearning to find a way to write for a living (other than the best seller which I've still not started to write, but promise myself every New Years Eve!), meant that I really could consider joining the world of the professional "wedding reporter".
I realised that I could offer to do that which I was planning to do for myself, for other people, for whom writing was less of an interest, but for whom the bespoke written report, was especially desirable.
So I did some boring things, like a little market research, a little website design, and the really fun stuff, like a little networking with those friends that I already have in the wedding industry, and a little bit of reading about weddings (like I wasn't doing that anyway!)and so Your Wedding Correspondent was born with the bemused nodding and adoring support of Mr. Reports of course!
Weddings aren't my guilty pleasure, I'm unapologetic about my enthusiasm for learning more and more about how couples come to stand before their friends and family to commit to one another for the rest of their lives. As a wedding correspondent I have the opportunity to write the absolute best love stories we've ever known, our own ones. A wedding has more heart, more honesty and often a bucket load more drama (not in an unpleasant sense) than any fictional love story - which is why I am relieved that in my version of "being a professional writer"- I don't write fiction.
I realised that I could offer to do that which I was planning to do for myself, for other people, for whom writing was less of an interest, but for whom the bespoke written report, was especially desirable.
So I did some boring things, like a little market research, a little website design, and the really fun stuff, like a little networking with those friends that I already have in the wedding industry, and a little bit of reading about weddings (like I wasn't doing that anyway!)and so Your Wedding Correspondent was born with the bemused nodding and adoring support of Mr. Reports of course!
Weddings aren't my guilty pleasure, I'm unapologetic about my enthusiasm for learning more and more about how couples come to stand before their friends and family to commit to one another for the rest of their lives. As a wedding correspondent I have the opportunity to write the absolute best love stories we've ever known, our own ones. A wedding has more heart, more honesty and often a bucket load more drama (not in an unpleasant sense) than any fictional love story - which is why I am relieved that in my version of "being a professional writer"- I don't write fiction.
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