My dear Scholars,
This will be our final blog post (though my e-mails to you will continue for several more weeks) and it’s a really important one, so please make the time to answer.
What do you know now that you wish you’d known going into your CQS internship (or your current job)?
Many thanks,
Coach Col

Hey Friends,
Please share part of a story you’ve written or read that illustrates the idea of showing the reader information, not telling him/her.
Here’s my example from a story I wrote long ago for The Providence Journal (as near as I can remember it). The lead, something like:
“The town councilman and the aging widow had [...]

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 [...]

Heyyy Chipsters!
Let’s talk a bit about the mechanics of writing, starting with that all-important lede. Please share one of your favorite leads, and tell us why you like it.
(Photogs and copy editors, please share a lead you’ve read that you like and tell us why.)
Extra points for telling us why journalists sometimes refer to [...]

Hello Scholars!
Who has had to run a correction on a story, photo caption or copyediting error (or has had to talk to his or her editor about whether to run a correction)?
Please share your experience – how it happened, how you handled it, what you learned from it.  And any other advice you might have [...]

Hey Folks,
Sorry to keep harping on story ideas, but the ability to come up with, refine and pitch story ideas is one of the most important skills we have as journalists.
So let’s talk about pitching an idea to your editor:
– How do you decide what to say in your pitch (What you’re going to tell [...]

Hello Dear Scholars!
So now your eyes and ears and taste buds and mind are on full alert in your new communities as you try to rustle up story ideas. And you’re noticing/hearing new and wondrous things each day.
But how do you take an observation or other information and turn it into a story idea that [...]

Looking back…(due before your internship ends)
Showing, not telling…(due Aug. 2)
Story organization…(due July 25)
Getting the lead out…(due July 18)
Oops! (due Sunday, July 11)
Pitching Story Ideas (due July 4)
Refining Story Ideas (due June 27)
Finding Story Ideas (due June 19)
Greetings from….. (due June 12)

Dear Scholars,
At some point this summer (often sooner than later) you’ll be expected to generate your own story ideas.
Now is the time to start coming up with these ideas for your papers/pubs.
Please share with us the steps you’ve taken so far to identify stories in your new community.
Thanks,
Coach Col

Hey Scholars,
Our question this week deals with relying on the Internet as a source of information for your stories. We heard all the cautions during orientation, but sometimes, especially on deadline, those cautions might be all too easy to ignore.
So I’d like to know: Who has a tale of relying on information gleaned from the [...]