John Hinshaw was a great editor.
He knew the AP Stylebook inside and out. He started in sports and worked his way up.
When our paths crossed, I had been in radio for a number of years and my experience in the print media was limited to free lance writing. My editors made changes without informing me and published my work many months after I had submitted it.
So, when John called me in to his office after I turned in one of my first stories, I didn't know what to expect.
He asked me what I meant in one of my paragraphs. Then he began picking apart my story and I was forced to stand next to him while he went through my story practically character by character.
When I was first hired, our cops and courts reporter asked our executive editor, "Who's going to teach him how to write?"
I was sitting in the executive editor's office at the time and wondered how or if I should respond.
I don't remember what our executive editor told him, but thankfully I soon gained acceptance and respect from most, if not all, our staff.
Now, I was standing in the editor's office as he picked apart my work and I would occasionally glance out into the news room to see if anyone was snickering at my expense.
Apparently they had all been through the same experience at one time or another and if there was any reaction, it was one of sympathy.
When John was finished, I agreed the story was much stronger and over the next months I learned quite a bit from him.
When I became an editor, I remembered that experience and then realized when I read reporter's copy I couldn't figure out what they were trying to write, either.
Unfortunately, some of my reporters were as interested in learning from me as I had been interested in learning from John.
"Just change it," one reporter said with a wave of her hand.
She proved to be so sure she was the consummate writer that she couldn't learn anything from me. There was another reporter who told me years after we parted way that she had learned a lot while I was her editor.
Education often depends on the attitude of the teacher and student.
Over the years I have been frustrated repeatedly by stories that were half-baked or more likely the reporter knew what he/she wanted to write but somehow that didn't get through to the fingers on the keyboard.
I did learn how to be my own editor.
Here are some ideas that work. I can't take credit for these but I try to steal from the best!
--Do your first draft in your head, as much as possible. I have a standard rule--I don't listen to the radio or my iPod or do anything on the way back to the office after a meeting I have covered. I use that time to think through what happened, looking for what is most important to my readers and prioritizing the discussions and the decisions made in the meeting.
Not long ago I covered a meeting that was all discussion of many topics by representatives of at least four groups.
One topic wasn't brought up until near the end of the meeting.
The overall discussion was about the role the local convention bureau should play in future promotion of the city and county. How much of the Innkeepers Tax should be spent by the convention bureau and how much should go to other groups.
It wasn't until after the meeting that I realized how to best hook my readers on the story.
One man in attendance organizes softball games in our community and softball is huge around here.
He made the point that he has to contract for state softball tournaments a year in advance. If authority for the local diamonds shifts from one group to another and he can't satisfy his contracts for the games, a lot of money will be lost.
Bingo! That was why my readers should care about the meeting I suffered through (there was a lot of controversy.) Tourism means money. It means profit for business owners and it means tax revenue for many services government provides.
So, even though what the softball organizer had to say took just a few minutes during the long meeting, it became my lead.
--Take a break after your first draft.
Writers don't write, they revise. Get used to the idea you will not accept your first, second or even your third draft.
--Don't be quick to check grammar and AP style.
That may sound sacrilegious, but you must take time later for proofing on that level.
The Jews in the days of Bible history believed words were alive and had power. They were right! Ask the kid on the playground who runs home crying because of the taunts of his friends.
Early in the process, write for power and, yes, interest and entertainment (if appropriate.) The government story may not entertain but it has to be interesting. You have to be able to show relevance to the reader of the meeting you covered. If there was no relevance, start calling the participants and ask them why they attended the meeting. If you dig, you will find your answer and I sincerely doubt the final answer will be, "Yeah, we were pretty much irrelevant today."
This is the time to experiment with a turn of the phrase, if one word is more appropriate than another. In short, this is one of the best part times in the writing process. This is where you get to have fun!
--Now, you have the option of cleaning up your piece, checking for grammar and AP style before or after you share your story with a co-worker.
It doesn't have to be another reporter. In fact, you will do better to share that piece with someone who is not a professional reporter or writer. Share with someone who is just like your reader.
The highest compliment your co-worker can pay you is to say, "I read your story."
--Before you turn your work in to your editor, clean it up. Be your own editor.
Oh, yes, at any time during your reporting and writing, don't hesitate to get advice from your editor. He or she will appreciate it much more if you talk it out early instead of on deadline.
Finally, don't take it personally when your editor hands your story back to you all marked up or if they make you stand next to their desk while they go through your piece word by word.
You will grow, if you pay attention, and you will be ready when The Big Break comes.
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