Being a gossip columnist is not easy, y'all. It takes a lot of endurance, time, talking to people you rather see floating in the Hudson and getting hooked up by your connected friends. Lucky for your, the Los Angeles Times has taken upon itself to compose a six-step guide to becoming the next Paula Froelich or Lloyd Grove. (Though they're pretty old school. If you want to be in the game these days, you need a blog.)

But the part that really sucks, is that you may have to attend some parties you are probably way too good for.

Step 5: Go to the right party even if it seems wrong. "I went to this awful party, just to keep myself out there and busy, and then standing next to me was this girl from Star. She said I should come and do a few writing samples for them. So that's how it worked out."

Oh, dear it's true. You can always find a girl from Star even at the most awful, dreadful parties. And it's pretty much guaranteed that she's just waiting for some really die-hard wanna be gossip to fill the role of "crappy party attender."

How to Become a Gossip Reporter [Meaghan Murphy, LA Times]