some thousands of words and a writer’s most common anxiety?
November 25, 2009 § 1 Comment
Oh boy! We finally made it to Thankgiving Break! I slept in this morning, made cinnamon coffee, ate raisin bran, and spent at least an hour on 10,000 words. I thought I’d share some links with you all that I stumbled across from my journey of clicking clicking clicking….
1. Oh, if only I actually had an iPhone. I do have an iPod Touch which is quite nifty, but the internet only serves me when I’m reach of wifi. But here are 10 Essential iPhone Apps for Bloggers and Reporters. How snazzy are some of these! Especially the voice recorders. I didn’t see the AP Style Book App that Kiri mentioned to me yesterday. That would be a convenient one to have as you’re typing up stories without having to lug around the latest version while your outdated versions collect dust on your shelf at home.
2. Here are two Twitter-related links I found to be interesting: The Top 7 Mistakes New Twitter Users Make, though I’m not convinced this addresses everything. They are some good things to consider, though. Also, 10 Journalists You Should be Following on Twitter. Check out their Twitters and their blogs.
3. FFFFOUND was one of the blogs listed under The 99 Greatest Blogs You Aren’t Reading. It is definitely a non-journalism blog, but it was quite fun to scroll down and look at the interesting images people come across online.
4. Has everyone else had a chance to look at Gwyneth Paltrow’s blog This is GOOP? I can’t afford to do half the things she suggests, like places to go eat, etc., but there are some nice looking little recipes and cute fashion ideas and interesting looking books to read and movies to see. I spent enough time on it to suggest that you all check it out.
5. Mashable: The Social Media Guide was an interesting looking one. The Knight fellows could probably benefit from clicking the WordPress tab and checking out the different things we could do to make our blogs more appealing and interesting to the community.
6. Finally, interesting as we put together Soundslides presentations and put together our videos, check out The Art of Visual Storytelling. Just some things to keep in mind.
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On another note, as Kiri and I were putting together our Rick Bragg stories, Kiri said she hoped she would do a good job telling the story of this woman she was writing about. It struck me, because just a few minutes earlier, I was on the phone with the woman I was writing about.
“Can I get a copy of that story when you’re finished with it?” she asked.
A legit question to ask, right? And of course I was planning on showing her what I said about her. But still, I get that twinge in my stomach when someone I wrote about actually reads what I wrote about them. It’s the same sort of anxiety I get when anyone reads what I write — an odd anxiety for a journalist, I suppose. I want to have done an excellent job. And how can I, someone who only met this woman a few days ago, write a story that truly captures her? How can I, someone who lives in a little college bubble and still doesn’t even live 100 percent independently, understand enough about life to share her story? How common are these anxieties with journalists? Even with the most professional?
Maybe as I get older and wiser and more comfortable with my writing will these anxieties lessen. Tal vez, tal vez.
True words, some true words man. Made my day!!