The Novel Diary: Week 17

Word counts: 1,860 (Chapter 4); 25,602 (total).

My novel writing will be taking a back seat (as if it already hasn’t) this week as I write the main article for my LV project. Concentrating on both would do each a disservice, and I have already spoiled my novel writing efforts enough for the past couple weeks.

Damn — I forgot what it’s like to write journalistically. It has been eight years since my last experience with “the craft” and journalese, so last night and tonight have been both fun and frustrating as I shake off the rust and oil the gears as best I can. (One of my last memories of working at the DI is of the Sunday of finals week. It was Mother’s Day. After our weekly meeting, the metro writers from out of state took advantage of the paper’s long distance lines to call home. All day I remember hearing different voices saying “Hi, mom. Happy Mother’s Day,” from the A&E and opinion desks.)

I collected what I thought was a ton of material, but after reading through my notes and transcripts, and sitting down to write, my research and reporting seems thin. However, I realized that it’s just because I am stuck on how to put it all together in a coherent and organized way, and to pick out what is most important to the angle. The stages of construction for an inverted pyramid are slowly coming back to me: lede, nutgraph, elaborated summary of lede and nutgraph with a removable tail for space saving measures. Though I don’t think the LV wants something that orthodox, I am channeling the naïve and enthusiastic spirit I had 10 years ago, when I was writing for the LH.

Which reminds me: I have been having a ton of high school related dreams lately, which may or may not have anything to do with the fact I graduated from City High 10 years ago this month. Twenty-oh-one (not “two thousand one”) was an exciting, eventful, and big year for me, which is probably why it is hard for me to associate it with the horror of 9/11. I have been mulling a post regarding this 10-year milestone, and I will likely write one around Memorial Day.

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