tip from tom

A few days ago, the incredibly talented Tom Chiarella (pronounced KEY-uh-rella) graciously spent nearly an hour on the phone to talk to me about his work. He's one of the writers at Esquire that I've loved to read ever since I was a 17-year-old sneaking issues from the mailbox to my bedroom. 

Chiarella does a lot of great profiles on movie stars-- like Charlize Theron, Halle Berry, and, most recently, Ben Affleck-- which can be tough when you might be dealing with notsogreat subjects. So, for inspiration, before meeting a subject, he reads a book that is somehow related to them. Before meeting Charlize for lunch, he read Out of Africa (because he knew she was from South Africa). Before Halle, Invisible Man (because Berry and Baldwin are both black, i guess). The point is, he reads these amazing classics and then goes in with a brilliant voice already in his head. That way no matter how much THEY suck, his words won't suffer for it.

I want to try this out, but maybe expand it...I don't know if I'll be meeting up with so many movie stars any time soon.