The article as published on email is missing what is called a first reference. I started at a newspaper called the Echoes-Sentinel based in Warren Township. At the time there were about five newspapers in the group.
Truly hilarious. I especially loved "Serving the astral plane." "Interview of the pencil sharpener." What fun that must have been. My kind of humor. I love small town newspapers, well what is left of them. The Anita Iowa Tribune (population ~1000) has a great little newspaper. They cover local events - and there are plenty of them - but also have a great history section, you know 50 years ago, etc. I think they go back to at least 125 years ago. I learn so much about life in small town Iowa in the past. And there was a lot of entertainment in those towns, like a former majorette moving back to town and offering a class for young girls. Another newspaper in NW Iowa printed a picture in the center of town from 1935. Assembled for Christmas carols was a huge number of the town's population. Santa arrived in a cart pulled by a goat.
the astral plane joke involves Flo, who was 100% pure New Ager, constantly accusing people of being on the astral plane when they were not paying attention or made a mistake.
Lotta practice bro! But in this case I'm talking about a 700 word news article, written to formula. It is motivating knowing the pressmen standing around are waiting for your page; and the 20 minute to one hour job will require the keen eyes of an editor. If you work as a copy editor also you learn how to copy edit as you write.
Also, writing for me is closer to carpentry, or at least certain kinds are. Design, measure, cut, assemble, polish. For many articles, I start with the quotes and the photos, and write the whole piece around them. For a news story, that's the most efficient way I've found.
It's important not to be too precious, and also to know what resolution to work at for specific issues. One last thing, many of the long-form pieces I write in a day I've been developing quietly for many years.
But that said, the recent Book of Blue article I wrote probably got 500 edits and was proofread multiple times by two professional copy editors. There are those jobs that call for exacting detail.
Thank you for sharing those insights - good to know that your stuff marinates for a while - and for the tip on writing around quotes and pictures. Practice practice...then more practice. Thanks for being an inspiration Eric.
The article as published on email is missing what is called a first reference. I started at a newspaper called the Echoes-Sentinel based in Warren Township. At the time there were about five newspapers in the group.
Truly hilarious. I especially loved "Serving the astral plane." "Interview of the pencil sharpener." What fun that must have been. My kind of humor. I love small town newspapers, well what is left of them. The Anita Iowa Tribune (population ~1000) has a great little newspaper. They cover local events - and there are plenty of them - but also have a great history section, you know 50 years ago, etc. I think they go back to at least 125 years ago. I learn so much about life in small town Iowa in the past. And there was a lot of entertainment in those towns, like a former majorette moving back to town and offering a class for young girls. Another newspaper in NW Iowa printed a picture in the center of town from 1935. Assembled for Christmas carols was a huge number of the town's population. Santa arrived in a cart pulled by a goat.
the astral plane joke involves Flo, who was 100% pure New Ager, constantly accusing people of being on the astral plane when they were not paying attention or made a mistake.
Love the hair! I would also love to know how to write an article in 20 minutes...it's more like 2000 for me (:
Lotta practice bro! But in this case I'm talking about a 700 word news article, written to formula. It is motivating knowing the pressmen standing around are waiting for your page; and the 20 minute to one hour job will require the keen eyes of an editor. If you work as a copy editor also you learn how to copy edit as you write.
Also, writing for me is closer to carpentry, or at least certain kinds are. Design, measure, cut, assemble, polish. For many articles, I start with the quotes and the photos, and write the whole piece around them. For a news story, that's the most efficient way I've found.
It's important not to be too precious, and also to know what resolution to work at for specific issues. One last thing, many of the long-form pieces I write in a day I've been developing quietly for many years.
But that said, the recent Book of Blue article I wrote probably got 500 edits and was proofread multiple times by two professional copy editors. There are those jobs that call for exacting detail.
Thank you for sharing those insights - good to know that your stuff marinates for a while - and for the tip on writing around quotes and pictures. Practice practice...then more practice. Thanks for being an inspiration Eric.