I recently reviewed the Midlands heat of the UK Beat-boxing championships for Nottingham’s Left Lion publication. The evening was a grand old time and I thoroughly enjoyed the unfamiliar experience, despite sticking out like a sore thumb. If you’re ever going to a beat-boxing competition, my advice is not to wear a hat and scarf with your ‘listen to the Beach Boys’ t-shirt. And, being the upmost professional that I am, I forgot my notebook and had to document the evening through saving text drafts on my phone. So not only did I appear to be an out of place rambler, living in the past, I was texting through the whole show. Cred.
Anyhooo, the review went live yesterday and as anyone who writes will know, your work has to meet the approval of the ever- tampering sub-editors. I understand that things need to be changed, facts need to be concise and the tone needs to adhere to whatever publication you’re writing for. But, when does your writing stop being your writing and morph into theirs? If I’m trying to establish a career by building a decent portfolio and writing, free of charge, for as many companies as possible, shouldn’t my style should be allowed to flourish into the form I choose? Or is it fair enough that people want their produce to maintain a specific presentation? I don’t really know to be honest – and in this case, the subbing wasn’t as terrible as I’ve suffered in the past, which makes this rant slightly unnecessary, but necessary dammit! Here’s the link: http://www.leftlion.co.uk/articles.cfm/id/2560
Check out some of the beat-boxers, particularly Petebox, he’s very talented indeed.x
