An Editor's Note is inherently self-reflexive. It isn't a piece of criticism, but a piece that tries to teach you how to read criticism. At In the Mood, we are loath to tell you how to feel about film, and also about film criticism: after all, the endless variety of ways people feel—forgetful, ecstatic, abuzz, obsessive—is our bread and butter.
But still, every issue I write an editor's note. Approx. 700 words about why the issue is worth your time, what the pieces therein say about how we watch film, or a detour into my own viewing experiences. This issue, we are overhauling our look, and going back to basics by focusing on moods. So it felt appropriate to give you a peek behind the curtain and give you a step-by-step guide for writing your own In the Mood Magazine editor's note.
1. Wait until it's perilously close to the launch date before you sit down to write it. There is no wisdom to this, but it is tradition.
2. Sit down and open a blank document, type "Issue X Editor's Note" at the top. Then let the acute worry wash over you. Maybe get up to make tea or fold some clothes. This will not alleviate your worry, but at least you'll get some housework done.
3. Send an apologetic message to your co-editor. The response: "Don't worry, you always pull something out of a hat!"
4. The opening paragraph is the hardest, so force yourself to start with it. Maybe an evocative quote, or a vague but compelling thought on the issue's theme, or something else entirely. (Think of your own ideas, you're writing the note, not me!)
5. Maybe now you're finding your stride in the second paragraph and the whole note is tumbling out before you in all its intellectually concise and stylish glory. This is a good time to let self-doubt creep in and stop writing altogether.
6. You need a break so take a walk. The leaves are finally turning, you might note to yourself. And later you might add to your note. Maybe something about change or the mood of the season (We are so defined by the seasons, it's basically the theme of our newsletter).
7. When you get back to the piece, don't read what you've written so far: forge blindly on. Remember editor, you have the writer's hat on now.
8. By the third paragraph you need to bring in a personal element. Try scrolling through a log of the films you've watched recently for inspiration, then consider how you probably need to get out more. Avoid looking at journal entries or your phone's camera roll, lest you lose your precious time down a rabbit hole of regret.
9. Now that you've added your personal touch, you have to loop back to the issue theme, or else you risk spending the whole note talking about your childhood.
10. Around this time you'll run out of steam, and you'll start to ask yourself if the issue really needs an editor's note. So it's a good idea to shamelessly crib from one of the brilliant pieces in the issue, riffing on their themes and analysis. Like Kathryn Margaret Rose's brilliant reappraisal of the Billabong era, or Fan Wu's breakdown of his love for the pitiful Paul Dano. It is not actually stealing if it's in an editor's note.
11. Stay strong, you're almost there! The second to last thing is to be sure to include a paragraph with links to some of the issue's standouts, but try to embed them into the flow of the piece, so you aren't simply saying, read these ones: Miles Forrester, Peckish; Dia VanGunten, Haunted; Ariane Lauren, Insatiable.
12. You're finally at the end, and this is the trickiest part. You will be tempted to include some overly clever turn of phrase or circle back to an earlier point in a satisfying way. But as writers, we have to be wary of our own tricks as they become stale fast. Do not start to think you are smarter than your reader: you are not! You want the ending to surprise, to come seemingly out of nowhere, produced with a flourish, like the rabbit—and the last-minute editor's note—out of a hat.
13. So forgo the magic tricks, and end on something real, like how grateful you are that your readers, contributors, and fellow editors have been supporting your scrappy little mag for eight incredible issues.
Gabrielle Marceau
Editor-in-Chief, In The Mood Magazine
An Editor's Note is inherently self-reflexive. It isn't a piece of criticism, but a piece that tries to teach you how to read criticism. At In the Mood, we are loath to tell you how to feel about film, and also about film criticism: after all, the endless variety of ways people feel—forgetful, ecstatic, abuzz, obsessive—is our bread and butter.
But still, every issue I write an editor's note. Approx. 700 words about why the issue is worth your time, what the pieces therein say about how we watch film, or a detour into my own viewing experiences. This issue, we are overhauling our look, and going back to basics by focusing on moods. So it felt appropriate to give you a peek behind the curtain and give you a step-by-step guide for writing your own In the Mood Magazine editor's note.
1. Wait until it's perilously close to the launch date before you sit down to write it. There is no wisdom to this, but it is tradition.
2. Sit down and open a blank document, type "Issue X Editor's Note" at the top. Then let the acute worry wash over you. Maybe get up to make tea or fold some clothes. This will not alleviate your worry, but at least you'll get some housework done.
3. Send an apologetic message to your co-editor. The response: "Don't worry, you always pull something out of a hat!"
4. The opening paragraph is the hardest, so force yourself to start with it. Maybe an evocative quote, or a vague but compelling thought on the issue's theme, or something else entirely. (Think of your own ideas, you're writing the note, not me!)
5. Maybe now you're finding your stride in the second paragraph and the whole note is tumbling out before you in all its intellectually concise and stylish glory. This is a good time to let self-doubt creep in and stop writing altogether.
6. You need a break so take a walk. The leaves are finally turning, you might note to yourself. And later you might add to your note. Maybe something about change or the mood of the season (We are so defined by the seasons, it's basically the theme of our newsletter).
7. When you get back to the piece, don't read what you've written so far: forge blindly on. Remember editor, you have the writer's hat on now.
8. By the third paragraph you need to bring in a personal element. Try scrolling through a log of the films you've watched recently for inspiration, then consider how you probably need to get out more. Avoid looking at journal entries or your phone's camera roll, lest you lose your precious time down a rabbit hole of regret.
9. Now that you've added your personal touch, you have to loop back to the issue theme, or else you risk spending the whole note talking about your childhood.
10. Around this time you'll run out of steam, and you'll start to ask yourself if the issue really needs an editor's note. So it's a good idea to shamelessly crib from one of the brilliant pieces in the issue, riffing on their themes and analysis. Like Kathryn Margaret Rose's brilliant reappraisal of the Billabong era, or Fan Wu's breakdown of his love for the pitiful Paul Dano. It is not actually stealing if it's in an editor's note.
11. Stay strong, you're almost there! The second to last thing is to be sure to include a paragraph with links to some of the issue's standouts, but try to embed them into the flow of the piece, so you aren't simply saying, read these ones: Miles Forrester, Peckish; Dia VanGunten, Haunted; Ariane Lauren, Insatiable.
12. You're finally at the end, and this is the trickiest part. You will be tempted to include some overly clever turn of phrase or circle back to an earlier point in a satisfying way. But as writers, we have to be wary of our own tricks as they become stale fast. Do not start to think you are smarter than your reader: you are not! You want the ending to surprise, to come seemingly out of nowhere, produced with a flourish, like the rabbit—and the last-minute editor's note—out of a hat.
13. So forgo the magic tricks, and end on something real, like how grateful you are that your readers, contributors, and fellow editors have been supporting your scrappy little mag for eight incredible issues.
Gabrielle Marceau
Editor-in-Chief, In The Mood Magazine