I'll be doing this throughout the quarter, noting what I have highlighted as I read some of the assignments for the class. This is not from an assigned reading, but I thought you might like to have what I read to you last night from "The Craft of Interviewing" by John Brady (1976, Vantage Books, New York).
So here goes:
"Interviewing is the modest, immediate science of gaining trust, then gaining information. . .
"Above all: ask. Pursue the blind alleys; voice your human -- as well as professional -- curiosities. Ask intriguing, innumerable questions, with enthusiam and only civil restraint. In the end, interviewing is less a technique than an instinct. An interview is simply a lively and thoughtful conversation. The more life and thought you invest in your questions, the more answers you will get."
". . . a good interview is sensibly structured. It begins with easy, rather mechanical questions; shifts to knottier, more thoughtful questions; moves back out with mechanical questions (favorite writers, future projects) and closes with a query that offers a ring of finality (one effective question: how would you like to be remembered?). If the interview has logical structure -- a sense of beginning, middle and end -- it will have emotional structure as well.
"The interview outline need not be dictatorial, or detailed, or even committed to paper. It can be a single, tacit purpose. In fact, the simpler it is, the better. It is only a device to give the interviewer confidence, and his questions, momentum. It gives the interviewer the reins of the interview."
And I hope I stressed enough that you need to do as much research as possible before the interview on the person you are interviewing. Don't be like this reporter:
". . . When Vivien Leigh arrived in Atlanta for the premiere of the reissue of Gone With the Wind, a reporter asked her what part she had played in the film. Scarlett informed the writer that she did not care to be interviewed by such an ignoramus."
Beyond the required books I have listed in the syllabus, I will be teaching from these books. You are not required to have them, but I have found them to be helpful on different aspects of writing and reporting.
The final arbiter in any disputes that might arise on grammar in this class will be:
Garner's Modern American Usage, Bryan A. Garner, 2003, Oxford University Press, New York
The stylebook I will use is:
Associated Press Stylebook 2007, Norm Goldstein, editor, 2007, The Associated Press, New York
Advice on interviewing comes from this book:
The Craft of Inverviewing, John Brady, 1976, Vintage Books, New York
Much of what I have to say about journalism (beyond my own experience) will come from these books:
The Journalist's Craft: A Guide to Writing Better Stories, Dennis Jackson and John Sweeney, editors, 2002, Allworth Press, New York
Inside Reporting : A Practical Guide to the Craft of Journalism, Tim Harrower, 2007, McGraw Hill, Boston
On style, diction, rhythm and just plain wise words on writing in general, I go to:
The Elements of Style, William Strunk, Jr., and E.B. White, 1972, Macmillan Publishing, New York
The New Oxford Guide to Writing, Thomas S. Kane, 1988, Oxford University Press, New York
Economical Writing, Deirdre N. McCloskey, 2009, Waveland Press, Long Grove, Ill.
Telling True Stories: A Nonfiction Writers' Guide, Mark Kramer and Wendy Call, editors, 2007, Penguin Group, New York
My quick reference books on grammar are:
Plain English Handbook: A Complete Guide to Good English, J. Martin Walsh and Anna Kathleen Walsh, 1959, McCormick-Mathers Publishing, Wichita, Kan.
Working with Words: A Handbook for Media Writers and Editors, Brian S. Brooks, James L/ Pinson and Jean Gaddy Wilson, 2006, Bedford/St. Martin's, Boston
For questions on punctuation, I turn to the section in the back of the AP Stylebook, but a more entertaining book on punctuation is:
Eats, Shoots and Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation, Lynne Truss, 2003, Gotham Books, New York
And last but not least, this is where I go for help on questions about math:
Math Tools for Journalists,Kathleen Woodruff Kickham, 2003, Marion Street Press, Oak Park, Ill.
Jim Molnar teaches the condensed version of this non-fiction writing course and has compiled an amazingly complete list of books about writing. Here it is:
Writing for Story:Craft Secrets of Dramatic Nonfiction, by Jon Franklin; Plume Reprint Edition, 1994, paperback.ISBN: 0-45227-295-5
The Studs Terkel Reader: My American Century, by Studs Terkel, with Calvin Trillin (Forward) and Robert Coles (Introduction); New Press, 2007, paperback. ISBN: 1595581774
Touchstone Anthology of Contemporary Creative Nonfiction: Work from 1970 to the Present, by Lex Williford and Michael Martone (eds.); Touchstone, 2007, paperback. ISBN: 1416531742.
The Making of a Story: A Norton Guide to Creative Writing, by Alice LaPlante; W.W. Norton & Company, 2007, hardcover. ISBN: 0393061647.
Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer, by Roy Peter Clark; Little, Brown and Company, 2008, paperback. ISBN: 0316014990
Recommended Texts:
Books on Craft
1.On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction, by William K. Zinsser; Collins, 2006, paperback.ISBN: 0-06089-154-8
2.Tell it Slant:Writing and Shaping Creative Nonfiction, by Brenda Miller and Suzanne Paola; McGraw-Hill Humanities, 2003, paperback.ISBN:0-07251-278-4
3.Writing True:The Art and Craft of Creative Nonfiction, by Sondra Perl and Mimi Schwartz; Houghton Mifflin, 2006, paperback. ISBN: 0-618-37075-7
4.The Fourth Genre: Contemporary Writers of/on Creative Nonfiction, by Robert L. Root, Jr., and Michael Steinberg; fourth edition, 2007, paperback. ISBN: 0-321-43484-6
5.Writing Creative Nonfiction:Instruction and Insights from Teachers of The Associated Writing Programs, by Carolyn Forche and Phillip Gerard (eds.); Writers Digest Books, 2001, paperback.ISBN:1-88491-050-5
6.The Art of Creative Nonfiction: Writing and Selling the Literature of Reality, by Lee Gutkind; John Wiley & Sons, 1997, paperback. ISBN: 0-471-11356-5
7.The Truth of the Matter: Art and Craft in Creative Nonfiction, by Dinty W. Moore; Pearson Longman, 2007, paperback. ISBN:0-32127-761-9
8.Writing With Style:Conversations on the Art of Writing, 2ndedition, by John R. Trimble;Prentice Hall, 2000, paperback.ISBN: 0130257133
9.The Passionate, Accurate Story: Making Your Heart’s Truth into Literature, by Carol Bly; Milkweed Editions, paperback. 1990.ISBN: 0-91594-353-1
10.The Art of the Personal Essay: An Anthology from the Classical Era to the Present, by Phillip Lopate; Anchor, 1997, paperback. ISBN: 0-38542-339-X
11.The Situation and the Story: The Art of Personal Narrative, by Vivian Gornick; Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2001, paperback. ISBN: 0-37452-858-6
12.Intimate Journalism: The Art and Craft of Reporting Everyday Life, by Walt Harrington; Sage Publications Inc., 1997, paperback. ISBN: 0761905871
13.Keep It Real:Everything You Need to Know About Researching and Writing Creative Nonfiction, by Lee Gutkind (ed.); W.W. Norton & Company, 2009, paperback.ISBN: 0393330982
14.Inventing the Truth: The Art and Craft of Memoir, by William Zinsser (ed.); Mariner Books, Houghton Mifflin, 1998, paperback. ISBN: 0-39590-150-2
15.Stein on Writing: A Master Editor of Some of the Most Successful Writers of Our Century Shares His Craft Techniques and Strategies, by Sol Stein; St. Martin’s Griffin, 2000, paperback. ISBN: 0-31225-421-0
16.Line by Line: How to Improve Your Own Writing, by Claire Kehrwald Cook; Houghton Mifflin, Modern Language Association series, 1985, paperback. ISBN: 0-395-39391-4
17.A Writer’s Workbook: Daily Exercises for the Writer’s Life, by Caroline Sharp; St. Martin’s Griffin 2002, paperback. ISBN:0-31228-621-X
18.A Manual of Writer’s Tricks, by David L. Carroll; Marlowe & Company, 1995, paperback. ISBN: 1-56924-877-X
19.The First Five Pages:A Writer’s Guide to Staying off the Rejection Pile, by Noah Lukeman; Fireside, 2000, paperback.ISBN: 0-68485-743-X
20.The Anatomy of a Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller, by John Truby; Faber & Faber, 2008, paperback. ISBN: 0865479933
21.Naming the World and Other Exercises for the Creative Writer, by Bret Anthony Johnston (ed.);Random House, 2008, paperback.ISBN: 0812975480
22.Now Write:Fiction Writing Exercises From Today’s Best Writers & Teachers, by Sherry Ellis (ed.); Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin, 2006, paperback. ISBN: 1585425222
23.The Writer’s Idea Book:How to Develop Great Ideas for Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry and Screenplays, by Jack Heffron; Writers Digest Books, 2000, paperback.ISBN: 158297179X
24.How to Write Funny:Add Humor to Every Kind of Writing, by John B. Kachuba (ed.), Writers Digest Books, 2001, paperback.ISBN: 1582970548
25.The Craft of Research, Third Edition, by Wayne C. Booth, Gregory G. Colomb and Joseph M. Williams; University of Chicago Press, 2008, paperback.ISBN: 0226065669
Books on Practice
26.Fingerpainting on the Moon:Writing and Creativity as a Path to Freedom, by Peter Levitt; Harmony, 2003, hardcover.ISBN:0-60961-048-1
27.A Writer’s Time: Making the Time to Write, by Kenneth Atchity; W.W. Norton & Company, Revised and Expanded Edition, 1995, paperback.ISBN: 0-39331-263-1
28.The Triggering Town:Lectures and Essays on Poetry and Writing, by Richard Hugo; W.W. Norton & Company, Reissue Edition, 1992, paperback.ISBN: 0-39330-933-9
29.You Must Revise Your Life, by William Stafford; University of Michigan Press, 1987, paperback. ISBN: 0-47206-371-5
30.Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them, by Francine Prose; Harper Collins, 2006, hardback. ISBN: 0-06077-704-4
31.The Unquiet Grave: A Word Circle by Palinurus, by Cyril Connolly; Persea Books, Reprint Edition, 2005, paperback. ISBN: 0-89255-058-9
32.Turning the Wheel: Essays on Buddhism and Writing, by Charles Johnson; Scribner, 2003, hardback. ISBN: 0-74324-324-7
33.The Midnight Disease: The Drive to Write, Writer’s Block, and the Creative Brain, by Alice W. Flaherty; Houghton Mifflin, 2004, paperback. ISBN: 0-61823-065-3
34.Writing for Your Life: A Guide and Companion to the Inner Worlds, by Deena Metzger; Harper San Francisco, 1992, paperback. ISBN: 0-06250-612-9
35.The Eleventh Draft: Craft and the Writing Life from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, by Frank Conroy (ed.); Harper Collins, 1999, hardback. ISBN: 0-06273-639-6
36.The Forest for the Trees: An Editor’s Advice to Writers, by Betsy Lerner; Riverhead Books, 2000, paperback. ISBN: 1-57322-152-X
37.Word Work: Surviving and Thriving as a Writer, by Bruce Holland Rogers; Invisible Cities Press, 2002, paperback. ISBN: 1-91322-917-1
38.Zen in the Art of Writing: Essays on Creativity, by Ray Bradbury;Joshua Odell Editions, expanded edition, 1993, paperback. ISBN: 1-87774-109-4
39.On Writing, by Stephen King; Pocket, 2002, paperback. ISBN: 0-74345-596-7
40.Conversations with Robert Gaves, by Frank L. Kersnowski (ed.); University Press of Mississippi, Literary Conversations Series, 1989, paperback. ISBN: 0-87805-413-8
41.The Art of Writing: Lu Chi’s Wen Fu, by Sam Hamill (trans.); Milkweed Editions, 2000, paperback. ISBN: 1-57131-412-1
42.Rules of Thumb: 73 Authors Reveal Their Fiction Writing Fixations, by Michael Martone and Susan Neville (eds.);Writers Digest Books, 2006, hardcover.ISBN: 1582973911
Books on Grammar, Syntax, and Style
43.The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition, by Willam Strunk Jr. and E.B. White; Longman, 1999, paperback. ISBN: 0-20530-902-X
44.The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law, Fully Revised and Updated, by Norm Goldstein; Perseus Books Group, 2006, paperback.USBN: 0-46500-489-X
45.Writing Handbook, Second Edition, by Bernard J. Streicher, S.J.; Michael P. Kammer, S.J.; and Charles W. Mulligan, S.J.; Loyola Press, 1996, hardcover. ISBN: 0829409106
46.Sin and Syntax:How to Craft Wickedly Effective Prose, by Constance Hale; Broadway Books, 2001, paperback;. ISBN: 0-76790-309-9
47.Common Errors in English Usage, 2nd edition, by Paul Brians; William, James & Co., 2009, paperback.ISBN: 1590282078
48.Words on Words: The Columbia Dictionary for Writers, by John B. Bremner; MJF Books, 1998,hardcover. ISBN: 1-56731-282-9
49.The Deluxe Transitive Vampire: The Ultimate Handbook of Grammar for the Innocent, the Eager, and the Doomed, by Karen Elizabeth Gordon; Pantheon Books, 1993, hardcover. ISBN: 0-67941-860-1
50.The New Well-Tempered Sentence: A Punctuation Handbook for the Innocent, the Eager, and the Doomed, by Karen Elizabeth Gordon,; Houghton Mifflin, reprint edition, 2003, paperback. ISBN: 0-61838-201-1
51.Woe is I: The Grammarphobe’s Guide to Better English in Plain English, by Patricia T. O’Connor; Riverhead Books, 2004, paperback. ISBN: 1-59448-006-0
52.Bryson’s Dictionary of Troublesome Words: A Writer’s Guide to Getting It Right, by Bill Bryson; Broadway, 2004, paperback. ISBN: 0767910435
53.Style, an Anti-Textbook, Second Edition, Revised, by Richard A Lanham; Paul Dry Books, 2007, paperback. ISBN: 1589880323
54.Artful Sentences: Syntax as Style by Virginia Tufte; Graphics Press, 2006, paperback.ISBN: 0961392185
Anthologies, Collections, and Essays
55.In Fact:The Best of Creative Nonfiction, by Lee Gutkind (ed.); W.W. Norton and Company, 2004, paperback.ISBN: 0-39332-665-9
56.The Best Creative Nonfiction, by Lee Gutkind (ed.), two volumes, paperback; W,W. Norton & Company. Vol. 1, 2007; ISBN: 0393330036. Vol. 2, 2008: ISBN: 0393330249
57.The Norton Book of Personal Essays, by Joseph Epstein (ed.); W.W. Norton & Company, 1997, hardcover.ISBN; 0-39303-654-5
58.Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do, by Studs Terkel; New Press, 1997, paperback. ISBN: 1565843428
59.Hard Times:An Oral History of the Great Depression, by Studs Terkel; W.W. Norton & Company, 2000, paperback. ISBN: 1565846567
60.Voices of Our Time:Five Decades of Studs Terkel Interviews, by Studs Terkel; Highbridge Audio, Unabridged Edition, 2005, audio cd set. ISBN: 156511969X
61.John McPhee Reader, by John McPhee, William L. Howarth (ed.); Farrar Straus Giroux, 1982, paperback. ISBN: 0-37451-719-3
62.The Second John McPhee Reader, by John McPhee, Patricia Strachan, David Remnick; Farrar Straus Giroux, 1996, paperback.ISBN:0-37452-463-7
63.The Braindead Megaphone: Essays, by George Saunders; Rverhead Trade, 2007, paperback. ISBN: 159448256X
64.Life Stories:Profiles from The New Yorker, by David Remnick; Modern Library, 2001, paperback.ISBN: 0-37575-751-1
65.The Next American Essay, by John D’Agata (ed.);Graywolf Press, 2003, paperback.ISBN: 1555973752
66.The Best American Essays of the Century, by Joyce Carol Oates and Robert Atwan (eds.); Houghton Mifflin reprint edition, 2001, paperback. ISBN: 0-618-15587-2
67.The Best American … Series published by Houghton Mifflin.See especially Essays (2007) and Magazine Writing (2006 and 2007) and Science and Nature Writing and Travel Writing.
68.In Short: A Collection of Brief Creative Nonfiction, by Judith Kitchen and Mary Paumier Jones (eds.); W.W. Norton & Co., 1996, paperback. ISBN: 0-39303-960-9
69.The Size of Thoughts: Essays and Other Lumber, by Nicholson Baker; Vintage Books, 1997, paperback. ISBN: 0-67977-624-9
70.Best Newspaper Writing, byAly Colon (ed.); The Poynter Institute, 2006-2007 edition (and subsequent), paperback. ISBN:0-87289-296-4. (Also other years and editions.)
71.Principal Products of Portugal: Prose Pieces, by Donald Hall; Beacon Press, 1996, paperback.ISBN: 0-0706-203-6
72.Having Everything Right: Essays of Place, by Kim R. Stafford, Sasquatch Books, 1997, paperback. ISBN: 1-57061-097-5
73.Crossing Open Ground, by Barry Lopez;Vintage, reprint edition, 1989, paperback. ISBN: 0-67972-183-5
74.About This Life: Journeys on the Threshold of Memory, by Barry Lopez; The Harvill Press, 1999, paperback. ISBN: 1-86046-565-X
75.The Enthusiasms of Robertson Davies, by Robertson Davies and Judith Skelton Grant (ed.); Penguin, reprint edition, 1991, paperback. ISBN: 0-14012-659-7
76.When You Are Engulfed in Flames, by David Sedaris; Back Bay Books, 2009, paperback.ISBN: 0316154687
77.The Disappointment Artist:Essays, by Jonathan Lethem; Vintage, 2006, paperback.ISBN: 1400076811
78.Only Love Can Break Your Heart, by David Samuels; New Press, 2008, hardcover. ISBN: 1595581871
79.The Irresponsible Self: On Laughter and the Novel, by James Wood; Picador, 2005, paperback.ISBN: 0312424604
80.A Walk in the Woods:Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail, by Bill Bryson; Anchor, 2nd ed., 2006, paperback.ISBN: 0307279464
81.The Insanity Defense:The Complete Prose, by Woody Allen; Random House, 2007, paperback.ISBN: 0812978110
82.Don’t Get Too Comfortable: The Indignities of Coach Class, The Torments of Low Thread Count, The Never- Ending Quest for Artisanal Olive Oil, and Other First World Problems, by David Rakoff; Broadway Books, 2005, paperback. ISBN: 0767916034
83.Fraud:Essays, by David Rakoff; Anchor, 2002, paperback.ISBN: 0767906314
84.The Areas pf My Expertise, by John Hodgman;Eiverhead Trade, 2006, paperback. ISBN: 1594482225
85.A Collection of Essays, by George Orwell; Mariner Books, 1970, paperback. ISBN: 0156186004
86.Facing Unpleasant Facts: Narrative Essays, by George Orwell (George Packer, ed.);Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2008, paperback.ISBN: 0151013616
87.The Orwell Reader:Fiction, Essays, and Reportage, by George Orwell; Mariner Books, 1961, paperback.ISBN: 0156701766
People clip and save obituaries as family records. They don’t want anything to be wrong in them, and you don’t either. Check the spelling of all names, dates and places and be willing to stake your life on their being correct.
You don't want to be referred to as a writer "with a history of errors wrote hastily and failed to double-check her work" as this reporter was in this The New York Times column.
The article also accurately describes how hectic and prone to error the editing process can be.
Best way to avoid being trashed in that process? Be your own best editor. And fact checker.
Go over your work carefully before turning it in. Print out your story and underline every fact in it (names, dates, time elements). Double check all of them against your notes or reference materials (not Wikipedia) and put a "done" mark of some kind beside them. Make all corrections in the article. Read it again for continuity (did changes in time elements mess up any chronological story-telling you did?)
While it's discouraging to readthat The Washington Post has more mistakes in it these days, it's somewhat heartening that at least they admit why this is happening: The paper has cut the number of copy editors it employs.
It would be nice to think that will lead the paper to see the worth of having more sets of eyes on stories as they head into publication and that the paper would hire more editors. But that would be naive.
I read Executive Editor Marcus Brauchli's statement that a new universal desk will be "more effective" in serving print, online and mobile audiences as an edict to Post staff to "do more with less," a rationale trotted out and debunked so often of late in the newspaper industry that I would have thought it had been put out to pasture.
Guess not.
I'm not encouraged by the hope of Andrew Alexander, the article's author, that readers show "some patience and understanding."
Thinking about making your way into the publishing world by blogging? Read this article first.
This excerpt gives you an idea of the state, and perhaps nature, of blogging:
"According to a 2008 survey by Technorati, which runs a search engine for blogs, only 7.4 million out of the 133 million blogs the company tracks had been updated in the past 120 days. That translates to 95 percent of blogs being essentially abandoned, left to lie fallow on the Web, where they become public remnants of a dream — or at least an ambition — unfulfilled."
From 1741 to 1744, Samuel Johnson basically made up what were purportedly debates going on in the British Parliament. Because the doings of Parliament were secret, Johnson had to rely on the skimpy notes of someone who had lurked in the background of the parliament building scribbling surreptitiously. It was also illegal to print what was said in Parliament so Johnson's writings were couched in the supposed fiction of events taking place in the "Senate of Lilliput."
Surely things are much better almost 400 years later, right? Maybe not.
To get an idea of the state of public information in the UK and how it compares to the United States, have a look at Eric Nalder's story of a reporter who learned the ropes on public documents and Freedom of Information in Washington state, at the University of Washington and the Spokane Spokesman-Review.
t can be a single, tacit purpose. In fact, the simpler it is, the better. It is only a device to give the interviewer confidence, and his questions, momentum. It gives the interviewer the reins of the interview."
