Last week, The Jewish Home L.A. published an article I wrote about Hevria, an online lit mag/blog that I’ve loved from its first post last summer.

One day, after contemplating how much I would like to see Hevria’s message of Torah and non-judgmental discourse spread, and thinking about how fun it would be to write about its writers, I pitched an article based on the website to The Jewish Home L.A.‘s editor. Since the publication is based in L.A., I focused on the website’s contributors who live in the L.A. area. The pitch got accepted, and now the article is hopefully being read by many people.

I guess sometimes it pays to be a fan. In the past, I’ve written book reviews of works by writers whose books I love, and I’ve written stories based on my hobbies and interests. Sometimes, researching articles can be a chore, but when you’re writing about something you love, it’s a pleasure. And then when it’s time to write, the words simply bubble up with enthusiasm.

I’m definitely going to be exploring more of my favorite things in future magazine pitches.

I can’t help but think that there’s a secondary message here: Recently, I’ve been mired down in a project for which my initial enthusiasm has waned. Maybe I need to introduce something new into the project which I’m actually interested in writing about.

Have any writers out there published articles based on one of your “favorite things?”

Do you think it helps/hurts your writing, makes it harder/easier?

And have you tried to draw on your hobbies or interests in order to liven up a project that you need to complete, but which you’re no longer excited about?