Ethan Gilsdorf is a seasoned arts and culture freelance writer. He covers movies, books, theater, food, arts-themed travel and pop culture trends for the Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, Christian Science Monitor, The Walrus (Toronto), and dozens of other publications. He is also East Coast correspondent of The Common Review. A published poet and creative writing teacher, he also served as editor of The New Delta Review and the Paris-based Frank.

>you are an "accidental expert": breaking in with what you know and starting small

Some beginning freelancers make this mistake --- I did. They want to review movies for the New York Time or cover rock concerts for Rolling Stone without first getting a few clips from their local rag. Writers need to remember to work their way up; aim high, but also be realistic. Remember that editors won't take you seriously unless you've demonstrated that you've been published and that you can write. One way to do this is to get experience with a local, small-potatoes publication. But if you have specialized knowledge --- let's say you grew up as the apple pie judge of your state fair --- then you might be able to convince the editor of your major metropolitan paper that you're the right person for that apple pie story. Leverage what makes you an "accidental expert" and begin there.

>getting on mailing lists: PR orgs/ colleges / universities/ events/visitors to Boston

Ideas for stories come from everywhere. The trick is timing: be the right writer, with the right idea, at the right time. Getting on the mailing lists of colleges and universities, bookstores, clubs, concert venues, museums, etc will give you a leg up on the competition. A million visiting artists/lecturers/scientists/speakers/musicians come to a city like Boston with a new book/new CD or new idea to promote. Your task is to find out about if before your editors do and pitch them the idea before they assign it to their staff writers. Get out in the streets/galleries/clubs/etc to spot trends. Troll alternative news sources to see if you can break a fringe story to a more mainstream publication. Then you'll sound like you're in the know --- and you will be.

>interview tools and tips

One challenge: combating the press tour. Public figures, especially movie stars and hot musicians, are accustomed to answering the same questions from one reporter after another (sometimes 5 or 10 or more times a day). They're also going to try to charm you, and get you to talk about their film/concert/whatever on and in their terms. Avoid PR fluff and celebrity hype and try to ask the unexpected --- questions that will not only make your interviewer think (or catch them off guard) but give you good material that will make both them, and your story, seem fresh. And report not just on what was said, but how it was said (your interviewee's appearance, action, other details).

>hybrid arts stories: the opinion/op-ed on pop culture trend

Often, an arts or culture story can be retooled as an op-ed or column, especially if you have done lots of research on a topic and feel you know it inside and out. After writing a standard feature on a film, or a festival round-up, and interviewing 6 experts, and reading a ton, you might have developed some opinions about a topic, and worked up the gumption to go public with it. All those science fiction/fantasy films you've been watching might lead you to develop a theory about why society is so drawn to imaginary worlds; or those endless hip hop shows you've been attending might cause you to wonder about youth clothing fashions. Angle those opinions into a timely, 700-word essay and try selling to the op-ed pages of your paper, or submit to a radio venue like NPR's All Things Considered.

To learn more about How to Become an Arts and Culture Journalist, sign up for the seminar led by Ethan Gilsdorf on Tuesday, June 13, 2006, 7-10pm, at the Harvard-Epworth United Methodist Church, 1555 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA, 617-492-1819.