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Azur
Once you have a clear impression of how the piece is going to start and end, you will begin writing it......and at the same time you will be working out how the possible book or magazine article can be done. Happy writing, Azur
posted by
johnmacnab
on July 18, 2006 at 5:49 AM
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Good reporting and writing
stem from a curious nature and attention to detail. When I worked as a reporter there were surprises with almost every interview. They'll tell all kinds of stories to a reporter who is just listening attentively. Most of us seldom get that kind of active listening. Which is why the storyteller sometimes lives to regret what he said to the reporter. I liked reporting, but the job didn't pay enough to keep my two kids clothed and sheltered, so I had to take an office job. I really like reading your posts, integrity comes through bright and clear...
posted by
Pat_B
on July 16, 2006 at 10:54 AM
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That sounds really fascinating Azur.
You make it sound fun, but I still know how much tedious work it is. Yet when you write something well as the result and it is well received, it winds up worth it. Uh-oh. I just had a baaaad thought. Writing for a living is something else I long ago swore I would not do. But then, I had declared I hated computers and I know where that wound up going!
posted by
FactorFiction
on July 15, 2006 at 8:09 AM
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i'm guessing you'll come up with a very satisfactory piece. happy
writing.
posted by
fourcats
on July 14, 2006 at 9:10 AM
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Azur, I believe that you are always up to any challenge. Only you could write the articles that you write in the way that you write them.
posted by
TAPS.
on July 14, 2006 at 6:04 AM
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Lifestyles articles are
my favorite kind to read. I think they help me gain perspective that I can't get from the events in my life. Not that my life is uneventful, but when I remember seeing an article about China with a picture of a baby girl laying dead near a gutter like garbage, and I thought, "at least I had a chance." Anyway, good luck with your article!
posted by
Flumpystalls3000
on July 14, 2006 at 5:56 AM
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Azur,
as you may have gathered, 'Lifestyle' ain't exactly my bag. Having said that, I've had the most amazing experiences of 'things coming together', and sometimes under the most unlikely circumstances...Luck? Serendipity? That mysterious 'Being open to things'? I don't know...
posted by
Nautikos
on July 14, 2006 at 4:19 AM
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Azur,
At least you're doing the one thing that I have not yet persuaded myself to do: working through the whole writing process, from germ to gem. Meeting up with your old friend and colleague will surely take you back to old people and places, as well as a sense of what might of been, had you stayed.
posted by
Blanche.
on July 13, 2006 at 1:37 PM
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That's fantastic - it's great when something does a
flip on your expectations.
It's reinforcing, and helps you sustain creativity.
posted by
Cringe
on July 13, 2006 at 1:33 PM
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Sounds good.
Thanks for sharing.
Now I'm jealous....
posted by
majroj
on July 13, 2006 at 12:20 PM
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Good luck...take care...
posted by
_Symphony_
on July 13, 2006 at 11:00 AM
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You thinking deep everything
posted by
Rosetree
on July 13, 2006 at 10:56 AM
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Azur, there might be a small element of luck, but your chickens are coming
home to roost, surely? You've sown and now you're reaping. Can't think of any more cliches, but cliches get used because they're true. Well done.
posted by
_dave_says_ack_
on July 13, 2006 at 9:49 AM
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I have found that my best work
is often the ones that feel as if they wrote themselves.
posted by
bel_1965
on July 13, 2006 at 4:54 AM
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Azur
I've done this type of writing before for a historical association, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is great how things fall into place sometimes.
posted by
avant-garde
on July 13, 2006 at 4:37 AM
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Markng
I certainly give it a go. These stories are tough until you have enough facts as you can't make them up
posted by
Azur
on July 13, 2006 at 3:25 AM
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Thanks Whacky
posted by
Azur
on July 13, 2006 at 3:23 AM
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this time the inspiration was slow in coming
posted by
Azur
on July 13, 2006 at 3:22 AM
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MarieClaire66, I'm still writing then editing. Seeing the shape
is such a big thing and I can't write a word until I can see that
posted by
Azur
on July 13, 2006 at 3:22 AM
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Blanche it will be interesting to see her
I am not there yet with the piece. Even after recognizing the shape of the article, there is so much work to do. There are people I worked with when I started at a small town paper who still do the society rounds and describe clothes and houses. I recall when I got married she virtually wrote up our life stories and that of the in-laws too
posted by
Azur
on July 13, 2006 at 3:20 AM
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sometimes things just work, we just got to give it a go despite our own hesitations. :D
posted by
markng
on July 12, 2006 at 11:10 PM
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Isn't it neat when pieces of a story just float past your face?
Good luck with the article!
posted by
Whacky
on July 12, 2006 at 9:58 PM
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Good luck with your writing, looks like it is taking shape.
You have pushed through the first stage-panic to the second stage, inspiration, then comes editing. Nearly there!
posted by
marieclaire66
on July 12, 2006 at 7:15 PM
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Azur,
I'm sure that writing the same type of piece is not for everyone. My grandmother was lifestyles editor for the same small town for 27 years. I wonder if she ever got tired of writng about bridal organza, flowers and wedding notices. Although, somehow I suspect she didn't, because she was very much a people person, and perhaps the repetitive nature of the work was obscured by meeting different people. To each their own.
Congratulations on working through the anxiety and getting the germ of the interview, working it into manageable form and coming out with a polished gem. I hope your meeting with your old friend goes well. That will be interesting.
posted by
Blanche.
on July 12, 2006 at 7:14 PM
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