Editor's Note

I've been editing magazines for two decades now. I don't want to say that some parts of the job have gotten a little tiresome -- but, no, I really don't want to publish a picture of your cat, Muffins, wearing a beret.

There are some things, though, that never get old, that still hit me with all the force of their freshness. One of those is discovering a unique and resonant voice. It's not just good writing I'm talking about here. It's a writer who, in a few deceptively simple lines, can convey an engaging personality and an original perspective on the world -- a perspective that seems at once new and familiar. New because you've never thought of things exactly that way before, and familiar because as soon as you do, it rings true.

That happened for me in the piece by Matt Mendelsohn that begins on Page 20. Mendelsohn, a former photojournalist, writes hilariously and movingly about his conversion to something he once instinctively despised. I'll let him tell it: This is what I've become after all these years, a deranged comic book character: mild-mannered wedding photographer by night, captive observer of the human condition by day. Who could pretend not to notice, after all, when a mother's very first words upon seeing her daughter in a wedding dress are: "Your earring is crooked."

What an astute, and devastating, observation. What a vivid sense of self, keenly aware without being self-glorifying. Honest. Revealing. Provocative.

Matt's not a professional writer. His piece -- to which this brief glimpse can't do justice -- came, essentially, out of the blue.

Which made me wonder: How many other undiscovered originals are out there?

I'd like to find out.

If you think you can write a magazine column with personality, fresh insight, keen observation and an original take on the tumultuous times in which we find ourselves, we want to hear from you.

Send 750 words or less, demonstrating all the qualities mentioned above. We can't promise anything, except that we'll definitely take a look. Who knows, maybe you'll make my day. And yours.

Send your column in an e-mail to newvoices@washpost.com before October 15. Include your name, daytime phone number and address. No attachments, please.