Love your job, happiness follows automatically

KENT – “If you want to write, do it.” These are Terry Pluto’s first advice for wanna-be journalists.

The award-winning sportswriter was speaking to a group of freshmen at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Kent State.

There’s more to know about the passion to write from a person who rolled out a book when he was 23. For him, having the ability to write and having a heart for it is not the same thing. Pluto knows that the misgivings of his well-wishers about how to make a living out of writing were not entirely unfounded.

“If you are around negative people, they will drive you down,” he told the class. “They will make you look like a fool talking about your dream. Don’t hang around with them.”

For Pluto, moving from routine things to taking risks is a daily business. He knows that people fear to change. The pain gets bigger because people don’t want to change, and the pain will take us over.

“If you are stuck in the routine thing, that’s bad,” he told. “You will be stunned to find what a routine person you are.”

So, what you do about it?

Pluto says, “Take risks.”

The work of a journalist is scrutinized daily and some people are ready to cast it down.

“That’s OK,” Pluto said. “It’s like some people who don’t like your looks. But there are people who will always support you.”

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Pluto crafted his own background the hard way and the chores never make him complacent. His advice to enthusiasts is to know that the art of writing is “continuous introspection.”

“I had stories that go, what I call the Mississippi way,” he told. “You gotta check your own work, just to find out how you are doing. You have to be ready to fail.”

He recollected his natural ambition during his rookie days working at Cleveland press. He frankly said he desired to be like one of those sportswriters.

“We just don’t want to admit we want to be like somebody,” he told. “It’s time to do a heart check and find out what you want.”

It’s annoying for him if somebody says they want to be a sports writer because they like sports.

“That’s not what it is,” he said. “The key is writing. If you want to be a sportscaster, you don’t bother with the scores. You are casting it.”

The veteran also had a journalistic tip: Learn to ask questions without assuming the answers. Talk to people other than the “usual suspects.” He believes that such non-judgmental approach works well in interviews.

“To get fresh stuff is to get fresh people,” he told. “You need to have a real curiosity to find what the other person is like.”

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Pluto’s interest in the people and their performances has given him the real fulfillment that one seeks in a profession.

“I would not trade my job with friends who are corporate lawyers and earn $500,000.”