Hello Chipsters!
I believe there are as many ways of organizing a story as there are writers, as I said in my e-mail to you. Story org. can be a tricky thing to master, and there’s some subjectivity in it, as I’m sure you’ve learned during sessions with your editor.
When you sit down to write, how do you organize your information? How do you decide what info to put at the top of your story, what to put at the bottom? How do you decide what to include and what to leave out?
Please share a tip or approach to organizing your stories that works for you. (And if you have different approaches based on the type of story – hard news, enterprise, feature, video, audio, photo, etc. – please let us know which one you’re talking about.)
And for Tiffany, our lone copy editor/designer in our group, please describe the scope of your copy-editing duties and how you go about them and any interactions you have with reporters.
Thanks – due Sunday,
Colleen
Madoree Pipkins
07.21.10
My organization strategy depends if I am working on a video or article.
FOR VIDEO:
1. Separate my A roll from B roll
2. subclip A roll for quotes I will use
3. Place “ambient sound” on track to fill the video
4. Put my subclips together for finished video
5. Fix final sound issues and add lower 3rd
6. Have some one watch it and give opinion
7. Fix any issues once more
8. I’m DONE DONE
FOR ARTICLES
1. write down basic’s (who., what .. where.. why.. when)
2. Decide whats the purpose of the story and place that information in bold
3. Write down quotes at bottom so I can place them like a puzzle
4. Add transitional sentences /paragraph blocks
5. Read it aloud
7. Print it out and read it ( there’s something about having it in my hand compared to reading it on a screen)
8. Pull out the AP book ( I know I have YET to memorize AP style so I do have to pull out the book to double check)
9. Send it off to my editor
10. RELAX!
Sophia Li
07.24.10
One of my favorite parts of writing for The Chronicle is that I get to work on bigger pieces. Whenever I wrote long features for my campus newspaper, it helped me to plan my story’s structure by writing out each biflic (a term I’ve never heard elsewhere! It refers to the heading for each subsection of the article.) Once I made sure the biflics were the foundation for a logical narrative, I wrote each section.
June Wu
07.24.10
I usually comb through my 10 pages of typed notes and delete everything but the facts and quotes I will likely be using. Then I start writing with the material I have in front of me. In terms of organization, I usually don’t draw up an outline unless I’m working on a pretty lengthy feature.
Mark Mock
07.25.10
@ Madoree I am going to have to snatch that list!
@June 10 pages?! Girl no ma’am.
@Sophia about to use the biflic in about 10 minutes, so thanks for the idea
When organizing a story I start off by making sure I have everything I need to write it, and if not I better have gotten someone’s number so I can call just in case! I also ask my editor how long she wants the story to be. This may sound skanky but I need that so I know how many people I need to talk to and just how creative I can get. At events a theme or an idea might pop out at me and I start plotting and organizing on the spot. For features the thought comes in a little later.
Once I have my info, I transpose everything onto the computer making note of the most interesting quotes and moments. I essentially write around the quotes, so the story just falls into place.
One thing I would like to add to my list is going through my story with an AP style book and combing through it. But I swear that by the time I get back folks are already asking for a web and print story (no tea no shade on their part) so I just dive in and give it a quick run through.
And with that I return work. ^_^
Phillip Lucas
07.27.10
First of all, I’m stealing that list too, Madoree.
Confession: I’m not the best when it comes to organizing stories but usually I start by getting an estimate on how long my editor expects it to be so I can figure out a balance between news and details-or “color” as my editor calls it. Then I think of how I’d tell a story to my friend and aim for letting the story tell itself when I sit down to write it.
I’ve found that my editors prefer for reporters not to always stick to the inverted pyramid, so I try to only use that if it’s a breaking or hard news story. For features, I usually lead with details and setting the scene before I jump into the news hook.
Toward the bottom of most stories, I usually include a quote or anecdote as the “kicker” from someone involved or affected. I do this to sort of let someone else sum up the issue or situation, because by the end of a story people have likely already heard enough from me.
colleen
07.28.10
Hi everyone, thanks for sharing your story org. approach with us (and enlightening your coach….biflics, who knew? Thanks, Sophia!)
Here are some more ways to go about organizing your material:
1) Figure out what your story focus/lead (including off-lead, if there is one) is. Then ask yourself: If you didn’t know anything about this story — if you were simply a reader/viewer — what question does that opening sentence or paragraph raise? The answer to this question will be the next sentence you lay down. Then step back and say, what question does this new sentence raise? The answer becomes the next sentence. Etc. This method not only helps the story unfold in a way that’s logical for readers, it also helps with transitions between sentences, paragraphs, etc.
2) Tip No. 2. In an “issue” story, generally, keep “like” information together in the story. So if you’re writing about the pros and cons of Arizona’s immigration law, for example, group all the pros together in a chunk, and group the cons together in a chunk. One chunk can follow the other, with, of course, a transition graf or sentence to link the two sections.
3) For the “fork methold,” which comes to us via Mary Ann Hogan in the form of an “Ask the Coach” column, read the body of my e-mail to you.
Carry on!
Colleen
Tiffany Williams
07.29.10
I’m super late, but on copy desk, here’s what I do:
1. Read the story in its entirety without editing anything to see if it makes sense overall.
2. Re-read the story, this time making corrections.
3. Highlight all numbers to ensure they add up.
4. Highlight all names to make sure they match the spelling in the CQ the writer provides. (For more prominent figures such as councilmen, I check the newspaper’s library to view previous spellings.)
5. Call writer for clarification if needed.
6. Write a headline.
Molly Young
08.05.10
I’m joining the conversation late alongside Tiffany, but I’m glad I’ve had the chance to read everyone’s organization strategies. Madoree, I’m inspired!
Sorry to say, my strategy’s not as detailed. Instead, I’m a much more visual person. But here’s the basic idea:
I copy and paste the quotes I like, and paraphrase important information that needs to go in my story. Then I arrange them in a logical sequence. With the basic structure, I write my nut graf. Then I tackle my lede. Unless inspiration strikes me right away, I usually save that for last so I can tailor it to my story. Then I walk away (time permitting!) and think about the details/color that can add to my story. Finally, (thanks to Sue Stock’s suggestion at CQS) I print off my story and check off every detail.
Thanks for the inspiration everyone!