This week, I really enjoyed the features that we had to read, though they really only struck up fear in me for my own article. I understand I have to remind myself that these are award-winning writers and that these pieces are compiled in this anthology because of their nominations, but they're still the present examples we have--and they're great pieces of writing!
I worry for my own feature that my topic is not relevant or interesting; that no one will really care to read about calendars and how their use has evolved over time. I'm not even sure I can do a good job answering that question.
But hopefully I can still learn from the examples. One thing I really liked about Packer's "Betrayed" was how he sectioned the story into pieces; oftentimes I ignore the divisions the author's create because it takes more mental energy to figure out what they're symbolizing than to just read without an interpretation. But Packer allowed the breaks to still be part of a greater scheme of chronological organization. There was no point in the article during which I felt I had lost the transition from the last point to the current one; everything made thematic sense. There are definitely features we have read where I felt that lacking.
What I enjoyed about Laskas's "Underworld" was the descriptive nature she gave to the piece, intimately describing the characters, the surroundings of the city, the environment of the coal mine and the feel of rushing through the tracks on your back. Since Laskas was obviously new to the idea, she wrote about it as such and allowed the reader to experience those novelties with her. I also thought, throughout my reading of the article, how interesting it was to see the industry from a woman's perspective. I know this doesn't have much to do with her writing, necessarily, but I think it was a brave and creative choice on her part to approach a subject that is typically male-dominated in both participation and interest.
That's another element of style I think we as writers can add to our pieces--the choice of our subjects and how we portay them.
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I agree that the articles we've been reading have been especially good writing (as well as very moving pieces), especially Packer's and Williams'. I also think that the history of calendars would be a very cool piece for a feature, especially since every culture has developed some way of measuring time, and how global interaction has forced them to deal with different calendars. I think it will be an interesting read.
ReplyDeleteI, too, found the piece more interesting given that it is fromm a woman's perspective--very unique. LD
ReplyDeleteWhile reading "Underworld" I too thought of how interesting it was to hear the story from a womans perspective. Her dicriptive language led me to imagine this little woman, surrounded by men, in a coal mine, with an over-sized hard hat on her head. What a funny site! I also admired her dedication. She is obvviously a passionate journalist if she agree's to go to a strip club after a day in the mines just to get a feel for the workers--I'm not sure I would be able to do that!But hey, I guess part of being a good writer is taking yourself outside your comfort zone.
ReplyDeleteI totally tend to ignore the section breaks in articles also and completly agree that it's because it takes more mental energy to figure out why it is structured that way. I'm glad you articulated it like you did because I would've never really understood why that technique bothered me in the Betrayed piece. I'll have to go back and try to understand on my own.
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