I seem to do most of my writing elsewhere these days… nonetheless, I’ve got a couple of articles out there that I thought I’d let you know about:

Judging the Series Finales: ‘Lost’ vs. ‘Battlestar Galactica’ – the fine folks at Geeks of Doom (thanks Eve and Dave!) let me write another post using the Broadcasting Brain pseudonym (clever, huh?).  Lost and BSG are two of my all time favorite shows and it was pretty easy for me to crank out hundreds of words of opinion about the two finales.  The post hit the front page of Digg.com, much to my surprise.

EDIT:  June 12/10:  reading through the comments on this post, the commentators pointed out a couple of holes in my thinking about the finales.  While it doesn’t change my overall feelings about either finale, they do provide important points that need to be consider.  It’s all good.

What All Content Creators Need to Learn From Roger Ebert – this is my second Copyblogger guest post.  It was a way for me to express my admiration for Roger Ebert’s grace in dealing with profound disability while continuing to write wonderful stuff.  I’d be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the fantastic editing of my post by Sonia Simone.

In fact, you can be the judge.  I’m reprinting the original draft of the post here:  you can decide which one is better.

Thanks!

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What All Content Creators Need To Learn From Roger Ebert

He used to be the bespectacled chubby guy, brash and outspoken who spent decades riffing on movies to the delight of millions.  Now his voice only comes from machines:  one that makes sound for him; another that allows him to communicate with his fingers.  But Roger Ebert still has movies.  His voice still sings loud and clear with digital vocal chords.   Anyone who churns out content for a living needs to pay close attention to Ebert, because there’s a lot to learn there.

A brief background:  Roger Ebert did a lot of writing early in his career, writing screenplays and working with Russ Meyer, among others.  Movie and movie reviews were Ebert’s great passion, which he turned into a series of successful TV film review shows, starting with Sneak Previews with Gene Siskel in the late 1970s, and continuing on to the mid 2000s with other formats and collaborators.  At the same time, Ebert has maintained a strong series of film reviews in Chicago newspapers for several decades, wrote books on various subjects, and won the Pulitzer Prize from criticism in 1975.

Several bouts with cancer have deprived Roger Ebert of a television film reviewer key resource: his voice.  He has not been able to speak (or eat or drink) since 2006.  This would be a disaster that would destroy many people.  Yet Ebert has been able to carry on with his words.  He continues to receive new acclaim and appreciation for the quality and feeling of his writing.

Let’s see how content creators like you and I can benefit from Ebert’s example.

Maintain a sense of humor

It’s not fun to be deprived of natural pleasures.  Losses like this consume our life and energy, making every day seem torturous and joyless.  I’m sure Roger Ebert must have his bad days, but it never affects the quality of his writing.  His words continue to sparkle and shine with life.

He receives continual praise for the power of his insights and the humor sprinkled within his work.  Ebert’s recent criticism of Glenn Beck contains several pointed barbs and clever remarks that show that his wit and senses are still strong.  He doesn’t go for the LOL moment, but he uses sharp observation and analysis to make engrossing content, as he does in The London Perambulator.

Ebert’s ability to use humor effectively despite his ordeals is inspiring.  He continues to provide enjoyment for the rest of us.

Lesson: a sense of humor is worth its weight in gold for you and your audience.

Keep a sharp mind

It’s easy to take our minds for granted.  Personally, I fear the possibility of going senile or losing the power of coherent thought and memory.  I cherish the ability to think, reason, and communicate.  Losing the ability to speak would be horrible, but I could manage. But if I lost the ability to form coherent thoughts and communicate, life would be pointless.  Robert Ebert is fortunate to have maintained his full mental faculties and ability to write wonderfully and thoughtfully.

His analysis moves among many topics:

• the personal (Putting a Better Face on Things, where he ponders the possibility of trying reconstructive surgery on his face again)
• children’s education, via film reviews: A Superwoman for Kenya, but America is Still Waiting For Superman
• the fate of America’s public services, extrapolating from the example of charges for fire department work when a fire isn’t actually present

Lesson: Your content needs to teach, inform, or otherwise stimulate your reader to think.

Focus on what you can (still) do well

Ebert was a Pulitzer Prize winning writer before becoming a famous film critic.  Some people think his writing is even better since he lost the ability to speak.  That may be a sentimental judgment, but he’s certainly no worse.  His ability to analyze and reflect upon movies (or virtually any topic) is strong.  He writes in a way that reaches both the average person and his peers.

Ebert is rarely in front of cameras any more (his recent appearance on Oprah is a memorable exception), but he remains a prolific writer.  He uses notepad and pen to communicate in person and the keyboard for larger audiences.  Profiled recently in Esquire magazine, Ebert offered up a journal entry to explain the power of writing:  ”When I am writing my problems become invisible and I am the same person I always was. All is well. I am as I should be.”  The article goes on to argue that his online journal is the best work of his life due to its thoughtful, introspective nature.

Lesson: be thankful for what you can do well; do it as long and as vigorously as you can.

Be honest

Ebert has plenty to complain about:  his bouts with cancer and reconstructive surgery failures, plus the general decline in his health. For that matter, so would a couple of other smart guys like, say, Jon Morrow or Stephen Hawking.  Speaking, eating, drinking and mobility:  we consider these things to be key parts of the human experience.  These three men are definitely human, though.

None of them are wasting their time whining, either.  I think these three guys have their fair share of happiness and fulfillment.  They all enjoy what they do and they are damned good at it.  They don’t look for pity:  they are sincere when they say that they are doing what they love to do.  By their example, they are providing inspiration to us all.  The Esquire article features a small picture of a Post It note written by Ebert:   “There is no need to pity me.  Look how happy I am.  This has led to an exploring of writing.”  He was being sincere. In the Putting a Better Face on Things post, Ebert gives a frank and insightful look into his feelings about reconstructive surgery and prosthetics.

Ebert’s journal has produced close to half a million words of honesty that are touching thousands, if not millions, of readers.

Can you claim the same thing?  Do you need to drop a façade and put what you really think into your work?  If you feel you can’t, then are you really in the right situation?  Are you doing what you really should be doing?  Or is the golden handcuff feeding your bank balance but feasting on your soul?

Lesson: use your life experiences to fuel your work.  Be forthright and frank whenever you talk about yourself.  Use your life lessons in the context of education and inspiration.

Let your passion save and sustain you

Ebert makes this point loud and clear in the Esquire article:  “it is saving me.”  His journaling has led him to a gripping and moving exploration of the art of writing.  Writing provides him with continued purpose in trying circumstances.

How many people is he inspiring with this new phase of work?  Hundreds?  Thousands?  Millions?

Can you do the same?  It’s worth thinking about, isn’t it?

Lesson: your passion can carry you through hardships. If even a fraction of that passion spills into your content, the possibilities for building your audience and developing true fans are huge.  People can tell when you’re “phoning it in” and when you’re fully invested in your writing.  Don’t phone it in.

Parting thoughts

I can’t claim to be objective about Roger Ebert because I’m a huge fan of what he’s doing with his writing.  That’s OK.  If Ebert can bare his soul in his journals and enthrall his readers, I can try to emulate even a little bit of that spark.

You can, too.  Try it – it might be the best thing that ever happened to your work.