Like reading a page out of the book

I was reading Susan's profile of Leesa and I thought to myself: This is just like out of the book -- kickoff paragraphs to introduce portions of the story, material that seems to follow an interior outline and supports the kickoff graf, etc. Of course, then my weary old mind could not remember the book, and I had to waste a half hour digging through book shelves trying to find those references.

I finally did. It's in "The Journalist's Craft: A Guide to Writing Better Stories" in an article by Carl Sessions Stepp entitled "Managing the Murky Middle." It's online and it's worth reading. Have a look.

And I wanted to cite some huge blunder by Susan here to keep her from getting a big head . . . I will as soon as I find one.