You should keep a list down the right side of your recent articles, and maybe a comment thing next to them. I don’t think the normal blog format, especially with the number of updates you do, gives your articles and the discussion around them enough exposure.
Josh, this was a really good piece. You covered the things that I was curious about. Also I really like the quote you used to close the article. It made me feel warm inside and brought a smile to my face thinking about one more person in the world doing the things they’ve always wanted to do.
Do you think about the quotes you will need for an article while you interview people? I imagine you focus more on the questions than what they will say. But if you are aware of the responses you want, do you subtly coach them into giving you a zesty sentence?
Speaking of process I would really, really enjoy it if you documented the process you go through to write an article.
I’d like that too. It would be interesting to see an article sort of disected into pieces.
Thanks, d.saint. (Your check is in the mail.) There’s really not much to dissect here — get told about the story at 4 p.m., call the hospital, reach the surgeon at 5:15, get the dad at 5:50, write the story for 6:20 deadline. There’s really not much time to think along the way.
There certainly are moments during an interview when you silently exclaim “YES!” when someone says something you know you can use. (Like the no-longer-blue quote from the dad or the butterfly quote from the doc.)
How much you focus on quotes depends on whether you’re seeking hard information or looking more for color. In this case, I wanted more hard info from the doc and more color from the dad, so the questions you ask the doc are more specific and process-oriented, and the question you ask the dad are more open-ended and encouraging him to talk long enough that he gets around to saying something interesting. (Luckily, both men were good talkers.)
But really, with a story like this, it tells itself with minimal input from someone like me.
Knowing Belo, they might sue your ass for posting your own stories here!
You should keep a list down the right side of your recent articles, and maybe a comment thing next to them. I don’t think the normal blog format, especially with the number of updates you do, gives your articles and the discussion around them enough exposure.
Josh, this was a really good piece. You covered the things that I was curious about. Also I really like the quote you used to close the article. It made me feel warm inside and brought a smile to my face thinking about one more person in the world doing the things they’ve always wanted to do.
Do you think about the quotes you will need for an article while you interview people? I imagine you focus more on the questions than what they will say. But if you are aware of the responses you want, do you subtly coach them into giving you a zesty sentence?
Speaking of process I would really, really enjoy it if you documented the process you go through to write an article.
I’d like that too. It would be interesting to see an article sort of disected into pieces.
Thanks, d.saint. (Your check is in the mail.) There’s really not much to dissect here — get told about the story at 4 p.m., call the hospital, reach the surgeon at 5:15, get the dad at 5:50, write the story for 6:20 deadline. There’s really not much time to think along the way.
There certainly are moments during an interview when you silently exclaim “YES!” when someone says something you know you can use. (Like the no-longer-blue quote from the dad or the butterfly quote from the doc.)
How much you focus on quotes depends on whether you’re seeking hard information or looking more for color. In this case, I wanted more hard info from the doc and more color from the dad, so the questions you ask the doc are more specific and process-oriented, and the question you ask the dad are more open-ended and encouraging him to talk long enough that he gets around to saying something interesting. (Luckily, both men were good talkers.)
But really, with a story like this, it tells itself with minimal input from someone like me.
Knowing Belo, they might sue your ass for posting your own stories here!