Loose Leaf Notes

Last week I spoke to Amanda Biviano’s senior English Composition class about being a local writer. It was a college freshman class and the students were learning to do interviews and write profile stories (the main type of writing that I currently do).   They were also interested in blogs and had been reading mine in preparation for my visit.

After briefly describing my background as a small town local freelancer, I told my writer’s story, via an archeological timeline that consisted of a stack of publications, books, and homemade booklets. Each magazine article, letter to the editor, or published poem I brought was prompt to remind me of a turning point in my writing career, which has been almost accidental or incidental and has always been informed by my life, as my blog byline demonstrates:  ‘Dear Abby, how can I get rid of freckles was my first published piece at the age of 11.’

‘How do you plan when you’re ready to write, so you don’t get lost in too many ideas?’  ‘Do you write for yourself, or do you write what you think others might want to hear?’   ‘How do you get the people you’re interviewing to open up?’ were some of the questions asked.

I shared my favorite writing quote by Elmore Leonard, “Try to leave out the parts that most people skip,” but forgot to mention one of my most important writer’s disciplines:  I drop everything to take notes when an idea is coming through.  Inspiration is hard to recreate, and a phrase or line may never be as pure as when it first comes to you (even if it need editing).

Be brave and curious (some might just call it nosy) when doing interviews, I advised the students (a great group of kids, by the way).   There is no dumb question when you’re interviewing someone about a subject you don’t know much about.  In my case that would be stories I’ve recently done about green insulation, green investing, green land management and dairy farming.   Get good background information – where your interviewee was born and went to school, etc – but also ask open ended questions (ones you think readers would want to know), such as ‘what inspires you?’ what are your goals?’ and ‘why do you do what you do?’

Another question a student asked me was ‘what was your most interesting interview?’  The moonshine sipping potter and the tree climbing teacher who had gear all ready for me to climb came to mind.  But I forgot to mention the humanitarian clown who said, “A red nose will get you anywhere,” or how much fun it was to cover the Primland Resort and Spa, last year’s Mardi Gras Ball, or the Obama for President Rally at the Sun Music Hall.  I also didn’t mention to the students the possibility that I might cover their graduation next year for our local newspaper (which I have done for the past 3 years).

“Find writers you like and read their work. You will likely see yourself in them. They are further along, but the writers you resonate with are the ones who have something to teach you about your own writing style.  Follow your interests. They are leading you.” I told the class.

We pulled up my blog, “my writer’s filing cabinet,” on a screen, and I showed them around.  When I left they were looking at blogger.com, which I recommended to them as a user friendly, free blogging platform. I was hoping they would start their own class blog about their interview experiences and that we could interact in the blogsphere.

So, if you’re reading this now, Ms. Biviano’s English Composition class, here’s something I forgot to say about blogging:  Each blog entry that you post is a published document so make sure you can stand behind it.

P.S. And have fun.

Note: Past posts about blogging are HERE. Posts about writing are HERE.