What we learned from Maureen

Here are the Tweets you sent me about the session with Maureen O’Hagan from The Seattle Times. Sorry if I missed someone’s – as I did with those you sent about Cheryl’s visit.

Thanks again to Maureen.

And I’m expecting Tweets from you about Bill Dietrich’s visit.

Here’s what you said you took away from Maureen’s talk:

Don't tell the story just for the story's sake. There should be something of consequence that the reader can take away
from it.

Murder, mental mayhem and medication: how to explore the terrain of mental illness to uncover the mind of a gentle killer.

The story is in the details. Paint a picture with words to capture the essence of your subject. Write for yourself & the readers will come.

What’s your story? Truth. What do you want me to know? Discover.  How? Investigate the facts.  Show me, don’t tell me; write, revise, edit.

"A good editor is going to save me from myself"

What are the most important things to bring to a difficult interview?  Pencil, paper, and the ability to walk in the other person's shoes.

“I’m kind of nuts about fact checking . . . Editors don’t really want to hear it’s a good story. They want an excuse to run it (the story) . . If I had to make stuff up out of my head -- I’d be a failure. I can’t write fiction."

"I think of writing as a puzzle, and what's the best way to put that together."

If you can’t grab the reader, don’t bother. Write as many leads as you need to – 20? – ’til you find the one that works.

Every piece of work has a back story more rich and complex than the work itself.  The puzzle is knowing how much of the story to share.

"Happy topics are boring."

In journalism, you encounter difficult decisions, so you need to use your best judgment.

Fact check. Be fair. Capture the essence of things. A good interview is like watching a movie unfold. Fact-check again.