HOW TO BE A CRITIC

1. Watch a lot of TV and movies. Consume media voraciously, and get outside your national, linguistic, or genre comfort zones regularly.

2. Learn about TV and film history beyond your date of birth. Go back as far as you possibly can. Seek out the past because it informs the present.

3. Write for at least two hours every day, even if you don't publish what you write. Writing is like athletics. The more you do it, the stronger and faster you become. Try to get to the point where you write better than anyone who writes faster than you, and faster than anyone who writes better than you. If two hours a day sounds like too much time, it means you don't really want to do this for a living and should do something else instead.

4. If you have a good idea or observation, write it down immediately. Keep a notebook handy when you watch anything, and if you notice a line or a shot that seems significant for whatever reason, or if you have a thought that seems even remotely promising, write it down so you don't forget it. You might as well just go ahead carry the notebook everywhere, because you never know when a decent idea will hit you, and if you get to the end of the day and can't remember it, you'll be annoyed with yourself. Notebooks are better than electronic devices because they don't run out of battery power and you won't annoy anyone if you use them in the dark.

5. Always make your editor's life easier, not harder. This is a job, not just a pursuit. Your bosses do not exist to make you feel good about yourself. They have to crank shit out, and a lot of them don't care how brilliant it is if it comes in late or has accuracy or structural problems that they have to solve. Journalism isn't filled with just-OK writers because that's what editors want. It's filled with just-OK writers because editors don't want to have to put out fires after regular office hours unless there's a damned good reason. So hit your deadlines. Turn in copy that's as smart and clean and exciting as can be under the circumstances. Take responsibility for your words. If you're not sure about an assertion, don't just leave it in the piece and hope somebody else catches it before publication: research and confirm it, or else delete the assertion and write around it. I lose more sleep over corrections than anything else related to journalism. That most errors are easily preventable only makes the discomfort worse.