Sunday, September 14, 2008
When You Write What You Know, You Start the Conversation
I have a hard time coming up with story ideas.Not because I can't think of any. I dream up plenty on any given day. But my brain has a glitch. It works a little too much. To the point where I overthink and overanalyze my ideas so much that I usually find a reason to dispose of them before any editor even gets the chance to. I think it's a side-effect of working in radio: instead of trying to fill up pages, we're trying to ration out minutes. Mere seconds, in some cases.
But it's something I'm actively trying to change. Particularly because right now, assignments are few in the floating/freelance producer world. I've got some time on my hands, and I've been spending it trying to figure out how to spend it.
"Go do a piece," said one of my colleagues (and sometimes-boss). "You're a good writer. Go find a story to do."
She said it so simply, like she was telling me to grab some orange juice out of the fridge. Doesn't she know in this overactive mind of mine, it's just not that easy?
*sigh* Okay. Yes it is. At least it should be. It just isn't, for me.
I was lamenting over this during a roadtrip with Soraya this weekend. "Just write what you know," she said. Basically, she said, there can be a story in anything.
And no sooner than I sign on to the Internet tonight do I see the very proof of her point.
There's the column about insipid commenters on washingtonpost.com (I'd been sniveling about that just a day before). There's the New York Times piece about the evolution of Sarah Palin's hairstyle (I'd been sniveling about that too for the past three weeks). And the Modern Love essay about the downsides -- BIG downsides -- of looking someone up on the Internet before the first date (been there...MAJOR mistake). And let me forget the piece about tattooed wedding rings.
(As an addendum: The articles mentioned above also proved another point that Soraya had made -- that Times clearly has its finger on the pulse of culture -- "It leads the conversation on these things," she said -- and that that's some stuff to aspire to.)
So, with my boss' encouragement in my pocket, Soraya's pep talk fresh in my ear, and examples to follow everywhere I look, I've printed out a little helpful phrase and taped it above the keyboard on my laptop:
"You can write about ANYTHING."
Labels: advice, journalism, lessons, story ideas
continue...
Maybe I'm weird.I like being edited.
I mean, it's always a good feeling when someone hands you back copy and says, "This is great! No changes." It strokes your ego... but if you're me, the strokes are short. I start to wonder, "No changes? Are you sure? You positive I didn't miss anything? Are you SURE?!"
Chalk it up to my personal need for perfection, or the closest I can get to it. You can't get there if you're not challenged. Because if you're not challenged, you get stuck in your own little bubble thinking you can write rainbows and unicorns -- until finally, someone points out the muddy puddles and walruses on your page.
And then your feelings are hurt.
So yes, edit me, please. Especially if you're older, wiser, more seasoned and experienced. Anyone who knows me knows I have something of a reverence for the veterans at work. The hosts, reporters, editors -- all kind enough to chop up a young producer's copy.
Okay, yes, there are times when the revisions can annoy me (like choosing "gargantuan" instead of good ol' "huge"... inflated copy, anyone?), but most times, I just like sitting next to people I respect and learning from them. Three years out of school, I still consider myself a student. I figure, in order to be my best, I have to learn the best.
And, baby, I'ma be the best.
Labels: advice, Job survival, lessons, writing
continue...Monday, September 01, 2008
Note to Self:
If you have to work on a holiday, always bring snacks.I've been at work for exactly 54 minutes and I am starving for some reason. I've eaten the two grapefruit cups I brought to work and I"m working on an Arizona tea as well. But I didn't bring a lunch because I figured I could run home and get something when I got hungry.
But, when you're working holidays or weekends, you're usually the only person assigned int he newsroom. Which means that if anything happens anywhere in the state, it's your job to cover it.
I've already dodged a bullet with a structure fire that got knocked down quickly. But I'm still under the gun for a story for my section tomorrow.
And my tummy is rumbling.
Man, I shoulda brought some more snacks.
Labels: advice, delirium, lessons, schedules
continue...Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Photo schmoto
In working on a cover story for our feature section about local tribute bands, all I have come up with in terms of photo assignment are to shoot a few bands at, you guessed it: a concert.How boring is that?
Pretty damn boring.
What's a reporter to do? I admit. I'm not the best visual thinker. I can't use illustration to tell the story. The pictures in the newspaper are usually interesting to me. But that interest doesn't help when I've got a long form feature to bang out, and about six or seven pictures that have to go along with it. I just don't want six pictures of some band at some club on some random day in August. How do I help photo help tell my story?
Do I have a panel at NABJ next year on my hands?
Labels: advice, photos, tips and tricks
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