How Being a Former Gossip Reporter Made Me a Better Writer

When I was twenty-two, and strangers used to ask what I did for work, I lied.

“I work for a weekly news magazine,” I’d say.

Now, strictly speaking, this wasn’t a total lie, more one of omission. Because when you say “weekly news magazine,” people think of … Newsweek. And while I never had any aspirations to be a hard news or even a political reporter, I was still embarrassed to reveal what kind of news I did cover. Breaking news in my world, you see, never had to do with coups, unless it was the kind featured on Real Housewives: I was a celebrity news reporter. Or—I still have to swallow hard to say it—gossip reporter.

As a journalist, I will die on the hill that your story, whatever it may be, will be better if you interview experts, whomever they may be.

That term, and its implications, never sat easily with me. While I love a juicy bit of insider info, I never wanted to be the one to blast it out to literally millions of people. But I said yes to the role because I was desperate to be in magazine journalism, and I was already despondent in my current gig as an assistant media planner for a huge advertising firm (they gave me a calculator during onboarding; I knew I needed to leave immediately).

But now, over a decade removed from my tenure thrusting microphones in people’s faces on red carpets; surreptitiously making note of what Grammy and Oscar winners were eating for dinner in New York’s West Village; and becoming an expert at hunting for famous people’s friends and family on social media, I can also see that my rather unorthodox training as a reporter and editor has been extraordinarily useful when writing my debut novel, The Encore. 

And while most of you will never know the agony (and the ecstasy!) of covering a New York Fashion Week, much of what I learned pounding the pavement as a celebrity reporter can be distilled into lessons that are applicable to all stripes of writers, whether you’re writing fiction or nonfiction, articles or essays.

Ask the questions no one is asking
I don’t care if you’re only writing high fantasy: as a journalist, I will die on the hill that your story, whatever it may be, will be better if you interview experts, whomever they may be. In my career as both a gossip reporter and later as a lifestyle-focused journalist, I have interviewed hundreds of bold-faced names, from billionaires to heartthrobs. And often, during a press campaign, they’re being asked the same question dozens of times a day, which means their enthusiasm for your questions may be non-existent. But do you know the best way to perk someone up? Ask them something fully unrelated to whatever they’re promoting. 

One of my favorite tales related to this tactic was when I was doing what’s called a “meet and greet” with a then-teen heartthrob. Our conversation turned unexpectedly to our shared (and deep, abiding) love of cats. Not only did he agree to do an article with us after that meeting, but we stayed friends for a few years. Every time he liked a photo on my Instagram, there would be a flurry of teen girls who would comment on it after. I felt quite special by association.

My job, bluntly, was to spy, but to do it in a way that wasn’t baldly obvious either.

But okay, I’m getting off track: how does this apply to other writers? Any time you’re interviewing someone, it’s important not to just see them for their expertise, but as a whole human being. Take the time at the start of your call or meeting to throw a few softball questions, offer up some unique details about yourself as well. You’ll be amazed how much smoother the chat goes when you’ve taken the time to dig a bit deeper. And often, you’ll be rewarded with an anecdote or piece of info you wouldn’t have unearthed otherwise.

Learn how to read a room
One of my jobs as a very junior reporter on the nightlife beat was just to be…out at night. Mondays I’d post up at a popular club; Tuesdays were for dining at the bar of a restaurant that wasn’t secret, but not not a secret either; Thursdays…well, you get the picture. My job, bluntly, was to spy, but to do it in a way that wasn’t baldly obvious either. As such, I am still extremely fast when I scan a room; I can spot a friend (or a celebrity!) basically instantaneously. But oftentimes, I was doing this weird recon alone, which meant I had a lot of time to stare at all the patrons, not just the ones that we might put on the cover of the magazine. 

I know this is a little creepy. But it also made me far more interested in decoding body language; in the ways that humans communicate without ever saying a word. A flick of the wrist, an arch of an eyebrow—it was a fascinating education in nonverbal cues. Later, when I started drafting my first novel, I thought back to those many nights at whatever bar or club, and what I learned about relationships without even overhearing a conversation. So many of my characters’ gestures or physical interactions are grounded in what I learned from those long nights of reporting.

And while I wouldn’t wish a solo night of club hunting on anyone, you can do this at your local coffeeshop or cafe quite easily. How does that couple on a first date interact? Are they leaning into one another or away? Why does she have her arms crossed and why is he nervously drumming on the table? Take notes! Make a whole dictionary of gestures, if you want to. It will be an invaluable tool in your show-don’t-tell arsenal.

I don’t miss the late nights I passed closing magazine issues, or the frantic transcribing of interviews to make sure a story gets up online in time, or other things that I legitimately had to sign an NDA about. But I am grateful for how my very first job in media gave me the skills to communicate better: in person and through the spoken word. As for how many Housewives cell phone numbers I have in my address book? That I’ll never tell.

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The Encore by Juliet Izon is available from Union Square & Co.