I'm not embarrassed to admit it; I read a ton of magazines. I don't really favor any in particular; whatever I can find I end up reading. My favorite magazines, however, are Time and National Geographic. I also enjoy reading the features from the New York Times.
Some recent feature stories I've read that I find really cool are "East-West Fusion Under the Golden Gate" This article is incredibly cool, because it's so personal. It's narrated from the first person, so not only is the reader interested in the subject, they hear about it from someone who is "talking" to them as if they're really there. I personally felt like I was being told about the medi-spas in San Fransisco by a friend of mine, and not by a National Geographic writer. Although the author leads with a quote, it draws you in and spikes your curiosity. The personal, nonchalant style makes this story unique, and way more interesting that if it had been written as a news story, which might make the topic dry and boring.
Another great story is "Hiking Through History With Your Daughters" by Jack Hitt. First of all, I adore Jack Hitt as a writer in general, so I'm a little biased in that sense. This story reads like a novel or a book. It is humorous. That humor is something I'd like to figure out how to get into my stories. The way Hitt uses humor, however, it almost seems like he wasn't even trying to be funny, which just makes it that much better. It is also full of details, but all of the details he gives adds to the story. Given, he was writing about what most people would consider an interesting topic to begin with, as opposed to the previous feature ("East West Fusion"), but it still reads off as a charming, down-to-earth story.
The final feature I recently read that I'd like to discuss is "Being Black in China" I follow the author, Heather Greenwood Davis', blog, and I greatly enjoy her writing innovation. I have a tendency to appreciate "real" writers, who say what they mean without using idioms and metaphors and fancy styles, and Davis' writing is certainly "real". Her voice is strong and unique, and once you're familiar with her writing style and voice, you can absolutely tell what she writes. I strive to someday have such a strong voice in my writing. Her topics that she writes on are always interesting spins on things, even if they are things I've read about a million times. She has a knack for finding a great angle on her stories. I also think her story structures rock. She often uses lists, which keep my attention. Top that with the fact that her stories use the perfect mix of humor and suspense, and you can see why I'd love to emulate her.
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Blog #2 - The 12 Steps to Good Writing
According to Inside Reporting by Tim Harrower, where it cites a speech by Michael Gartner, there are 12 steps to good writing. These steps are:
1.Report - you need to know facts to write well.
2. Read - read everything, and think about what you're reading.
3. Listen - listen for emotion, nuance, detail, and facts. You have to listen carefully in order to get what you need.
4. Simplify - make something complex simple, or the readers will lose interest.
5. Collaborate - work with your editor, and make sure they're a good editor.
6. Trust - you must work in a trusting atmosphere, and trust the people you work with.
7. Experiment - try out new things! Don't let your writing fall into a rut.
8. Talk - talk to everyone, including yourself. Listen to how people talk, noting what sounds good and what doesn't.
9. Pounce - know how to use quotes, and recognize when you should use it!
10. Love - you have to love writing, or you'll never be good at it.
11. Care - you have to care about and be interested in what you're writing, but you can't have an agenda.
12. Balance - you have to be fair in what you write, and balance the good and the bad.
Of these, the three that come most easily to me are reading, talking, and loving. I read everything I can get my hands on, and I mean everything. I love to read. I finish at least a book a week, if not more. I will read anything I can get my hands on, from newspapers and magazines, to free books on my phone by self-published (and usually pretty bad) authors, to anything and everything in my local library or on sale in the bookstore. Reading is certainly not a problem for me. I also love to talk. I'm a great communicator, I love to converse with people; I'm just incredibly social. When I talk, I note what sounds awkward, and when I write, I usually read it out loud to see how it sounds. The other thing that comes easily to me is love. I love to write and report. I do it for fun. I write essays on books for fun, when there is nothing riding on it. I love to write poems, short stories, and even have four unfinished novels. I may just be the biggest nerd ever, yes. But I certainly love to write.
There are also a few things I'm not as strong at on that list. First of all, I don't always listen well. I always listen, but I can't always read people. I won't interrupt, but I might not catch the emotion behind what's said if it's subtle. I also like to talk, so I get excited, and I like to jump in and carry on a conversation, as opposed to letting them talk while I just sit back and listen. Another thing I need to work on is collaboration. I'm incredibly independent, especially when it comes to writing. I appreciate peer editing on my papers, but I don't always listen to it. I would rather do things on my own, even if that means I screw up on my own.
In order to improve my listening skills, I need to listen more actively. This means instead of listening while playing with my hair or doodling or texting, I need to be actively focused on the speaker, without the multitasking. This may help me catch subtleties in what's being said, and thus improve my listening skills. It's difficult for me not to jump into conversations, because my family is a very vocal family, so that's what I was raised with (if you want to say anything, you have to shout it over whoever is already speaking), but I've been working on it and have gotten a lot better with age at not always commanding the conversation. In order to fix my collaboration, I need to find someone who I like and trust, and has a similar writing style to mine, to work with. This would help me open my mind to other people's ideas. Also, I think I just need to get over myself and learn to allow other people to fix my writing, because I'm never going to be able to get away with not allowing other people to touch my writing if I go into journalism as a career.
1.Report - you need to know facts to write well.
2. Read - read everything, and think about what you're reading.
3. Listen - listen for emotion, nuance, detail, and facts. You have to listen carefully in order to get what you need.
4. Simplify - make something complex simple, or the readers will lose interest.
5. Collaborate - work with your editor, and make sure they're a good editor.
6. Trust - you must work in a trusting atmosphere, and trust the people you work with.
7. Experiment - try out new things! Don't let your writing fall into a rut.
8. Talk - talk to everyone, including yourself. Listen to how people talk, noting what sounds good and what doesn't.
9. Pounce - know how to use quotes, and recognize when you should use it!
10. Love - you have to love writing, or you'll never be good at it.
11. Care - you have to care about and be interested in what you're writing, but you can't have an agenda.
12. Balance - you have to be fair in what you write, and balance the good and the bad.
Of these, the three that come most easily to me are reading, talking, and loving. I read everything I can get my hands on, and I mean everything. I love to read. I finish at least a book a week, if not more. I will read anything I can get my hands on, from newspapers and magazines, to free books on my phone by self-published (and usually pretty bad) authors, to anything and everything in my local library or on sale in the bookstore. Reading is certainly not a problem for me. I also love to talk. I'm a great communicator, I love to converse with people; I'm just incredibly social. When I talk, I note what sounds awkward, and when I write, I usually read it out loud to see how it sounds. The other thing that comes easily to me is love. I love to write and report. I do it for fun. I write essays on books for fun, when there is nothing riding on it. I love to write poems, short stories, and even have four unfinished novels. I may just be the biggest nerd ever, yes. But I certainly love to write.
There are also a few things I'm not as strong at on that list. First of all, I don't always listen well. I always listen, but I can't always read people. I won't interrupt, but I might not catch the emotion behind what's said if it's subtle. I also like to talk, so I get excited, and I like to jump in and carry on a conversation, as opposed to letting them talk while I just sit back and listen. Another thing I need to work on is collaboration. I'm incredibly independent, especially when it comes to writing. I appreciate peer editing on my papers, but I don't always listen to it. I would rather do things on my own, even if that means I screw up on my own.
In order to improve my listening skills, I need to listen more actively. This means instead of listening while playing with my hair or doodling or texting, I need to be actively focused on the speaker, without the multitasking. This may help me catch subtleties in what's being said, and thus improve my listening skills. It's difficult for me not to jump into conversations, because my family is a very vocal family, so that's what I was raised with (if you want to say anything, you have to shout it over whoever is already speaking), but I've been working on it and have gotten a lot better with age at not always commanding the conversation. In order to fix my collaboration, I need to find someone who I like and trust, and has a similar writing style to mine, to work with. This would help me open my mind to other people's ideas. Also, I think I just need to get over myself and learn to allow other people to fix my writing, because I'm never going to be able to get away with not allowing other people to touch my writing if I go into journalism as a career.
Sunday, April 14, 2013
Shark Fin Soup
Last night, I went out to dinner with my boyfriend and his family. He is 1/4 Chinese, so his grandfather took us out to a huge Chinese food dinner in downtown Oakland, right near Chinatown. During this dinner, I had the opportunity to try many different things, including tongue (nobody specified what kind of tongue it was), jellyfish (I've discovered I'm not a fan at all), red bean soup, and many other traditional Chinese foods.
There was one food on the menu, however, that didn't sit right with me: Shark Fin Soup.
I'm an avid lover of the ocean. I swim, surf, and have always wanted to study marine biology. In short, I'm fascinated with it, and the creature that fascinates me the most in the ocean is the shark. I adore sharks. They're just about the coolest thing ever, and I'm not scared of them the way most people are. So I am a staunch advocate of banning the capture and sale of shark fin, and am completely and totally against the idea of shark fin soup.
But it was served to me. I didn't order it, and my boyfriend's grandfather was paying for it. Morally, I felt I should eat it, and not be rude. It was a cultural dish. Anyway, the animal had given it's life for me to have this bowl of soup, shouldn't I respect that?However, I didn't even want to try it. It went against everything I believed in. But alas, I felt I had no choice. I tried the soup.
I've never had it before, so I'm not sure what it's supposed to taste like, but all I tasted was a super thick, bland broth that could have been chicken broth, for all I could tell. There were stringy bits of something in it (probably the shark fin) that tasted like nothing but thick, chewy noodles. What is all the hype about? I don't personally see how this bland, boring soup could possibly be worth what it takes to get it, and what it cost!
In order to get shark fin, a fisher must catch a shark and cut of both its fins. It's a decently brutal thing, because after the fins are removed while the shark is alive, the shark is thrown back into the water. Without fins, the shark cannot swim, and dies shortly after. Because of this, the practice of finning sharks has been controversial, due to environmental concerns, and the inhuman way the fins are harvested. Bans on shark fin have been proposed and sometimes passed in many areas around the world. However, shark fin soup is a traditional dish in the Chinese culture.According to my boyfriend's family, the shark fin is believed to have medical properties that increase sex drive, energy, and skin clearness. Artificial shark fin is available, but authentic shark fin remains in demand. Many believe it is discriminatory to ban the dish.
So I personally will not be indulging in shark fin soup again, as long as I can help it. But I can see both sides of the debate. Here in California, the ban on the sale and trade of shark fin remains in place, but has recently undergone legal fire (ironically enough, the case took place in Oakland). For now, the debate on shark fin soup remains open, although the laws remain closed.
There was one food on the menu, however, that didn't sit right with me: Shark Fin Soup.
I'm an avid lover of the ocean. I swim, surf, and have always wanted to study marine biology. In short, I'm fascinated with it, and the creature that fascinates me the most in the ocean is the shark. I adore sharks. They're just about the coolest thing ever, and I'm not scared of them the way most people are. So I am a staunch advocate of banning the capture and sale of shark fin, and am completely and totally against the idea of shark fin soup.
But it was served to me. I didn't order it, and my boyfriend's grandfather was paying for it. Morally, I felt I should eat it, and not be rude. It was a cultural dish. Anyway, the animal had given it's life for me to have this bowl of soup, shouldn't I respect that?However, I didn't even want to try it. It went against everything I believed in. But alas, I felt I had no choice. I tried the soup.
I've never had it before, so I'm not sure what it's supposed to taste like, but all I tasted was a super thick, bland broth that could have been chicken broth, for all I could tell. There were stringy bits of something in it (probably the shark fin) that tasted like nothing but thick, chewy noodles. What is all the hype about? I don't personally see how this bland, boring soup could possibly be worth what it takes to get it, and what it cost!
In order to get shark fin, a fisher must catch a shark and cut of both its fins. It's a decently brutal thing, because after the fins are removed while the shark is alive, the shark is thrown back into the water. Without fins, the shark cannot swim, and dies shortly after. Because of this, the practice of finning sharks has been controversial, due to environmental concerns, and the inhuman way the fins are harvested. Bans on shark fin have been proposed and sometimes passed in many areas around the world. However, shark fin soup is a traditional dish in the Chinese culture.According to my boyfriend's family, the shark fin is believed to have medical properties that increase sex drive, energy, and skin clearness. Artificial shark fin is available, but authentic shark fin remains in demand. Many believe it is discriminatory to ban the dish.
So I personally will not be indulging in shark fin soup again, as long as I can help it. But I can see both sides of the debate. Here in California, the ban on the sale and trade of shark fin remains in place, but has recently undergone legal fire (ironically enough, the case took place in Oakland). For now, the debate on shark fin soup remains open, although the laws remain closed.
Blog #1: Feature Story Ideas
I love travel. Getting to know new people, learning about new cultures, and seeing new things all inspires me. But since I'm a poor broke college student, and traveling all over the world whenever I please isn't an option for me (as of right now, someday it will be!), my favorite thing to do is to get a taste of different cultures -- literally! One of the six common feature types is food, and that's exactly the one I would love to do!
There are so many trends in this category, it's kind of ridiculous. I got so caught up reading about different recipes and shows and watching episodes of Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmerman that I almost forgot I was supposed to be doing research. One trend in food is the whole non-processed, GMO-free, organic trend. I know a lot about this particularly, because my boyfriend's mom happens to be totally into it. No, seriously, she lectured me for eating a Togo's salad. And here I was, thinking I was being all healthy and getting a salad. Another huge trend is the recent growth in cooking shows and competitions. Iron Chef, Hell's Kitchen, and Cupcake Wars are all relatively common names. Even if you haven't seen them, you've heard about them. The celebrity chefs, and the "how-to" cooking shows have also been on the rise. To top it all off, there are now some (really awesome) travel shows that focus less on the travel and more on the food. Another super interesting trend is the idea of food sustainability. We all have to eat, but up until recently, none of us really thought about how what we ate affected the environment. Now, "sustainably farmed" is a term found on tons of food containers and labels, and the idea of a "Meatless Monday" to help the environment is catching on quickly.
A feature story idea I've come up with is writing about the new juicing trend. Recently, when I've gone to shop for groceries, I have come across tons (I mean like entire aisles full) of juices that claim to be 100% natural, healthy, beneficial, and have a ridiculous amount of fruits and veggies in them. Even people who don't buy the pre-packaged juice seem to be buying into the idea that you should juice your kale and carrots and drink it, instead of just eating your veggies like your parents always told you to do. Pros to an article on this would be that everyone seems to know about it; so getting interviews and statements should be easy. Also, I happen to love Naked juices, and drink them in the mornings when I'm running late and don't have time for breakfast. A unique angle on the topic should be pretty simple. I personally have never read an article on these new types of juices before. Cons to writing this article would be that because this is a decently new trend, it's difficult to find real, credible research on the actual health benefits of drinking fruit and veggie juice. Also, juicers and packaged juice are two different things. I may have to seperate and differentiate between the two in order to have a clear story.
Another feature story idea I have is about sustainable seafood. I was raised on sushi, but recently it's come to my attention that half the stuff I eat is killing the environment. This makes me sad, and I wish I had been more aware of it sooner. Some pros of doing a story covering seafood sustainability is that there are a ton of resources I could use for it. Also, being ecofriendly is a huge trend right now. A green story would go over well. Some cons would be that not everyone likes seafood; I'd be writing to the percentage of people that eat seafood and actually care, which limits my audience. Also, it's hard not to sound too biased and preachy when covering environmental stories, especially because I'm really into saving the environment.
There are so many trends in this category, it's kind of ridiculous. I got so caught up reading about different recipes and shows and watching episodes of Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmerman that I almost forgot I was supposed to be doing research. One trend in food is the whole non-processed, GMO-free, organic trend. I know a lot about this particularly, because my boyfriend's mom happens to be totally into it. No, seriously, she lectured me for eating a Togo's salad. And here I was, thinking I was being all healthy and getting a salad. Another huge trend is the recent growth in cooking shows and competitions. Iron Chef, Hell's Kitchen, and Cupcake Wars are all relatively common names. Even if you haven't seen them, you've heard about them. The celebrity chefs, and the "how-to" cooking shows have also been on the rise. To top it all off, there are now some (really awesome) travel shows that focus less on the travel and more on the food. Another super interesting trend is the idea of food sustainability. We all have to eat, but up until recently, none of us really thought about how what we ate affected the environment. Now, "sustainably farmed" is a term found on tons of food containers and labels, and the idea of a "Meatless Monday" to help the environment is catching on quickly.
A feature story idea I've come up with is writing about the new juicing trend. Recently, when I've gone to shop for groceries, I have come across tons (I mean like entire aisles full) of juices that claim to be 100% natural, healthy, beneficial, and have a ridiculous amount of fruits and veggies in them. Even people who don't buy the pre-packaged juice seem to be buying into the idea that you should juice your kale and carrots and drink it, instead of just eating your veggies like your parents always told you to do. Pros to an article on this would be that everyone seems to know about it; so getting interviews and statements should be easy. Also, I happen to love Naked juices, and drink them in the mornings when I'm running late and don't have time for breakfast. A unique angle on the topic should be pretty simple. I personally have never read an article on these new types of juices before. Cons to writing this article would be that because this is a decently new trend, it's difficult to find real, credible research on the actual health benefits of drinking fruit and veggie juice. Also, juicers and packaged juice are two different things. I may have to seperate and differentiate between the two in order to have a clear story.
Another feature story idea I have is about sustainable seafood. I was raised on sushi, but recently it's come to my attention that half the stuff I eat is killing the environment. This makes me sad, and I wish I had been more aware of it sooner. Some pros of doing a story covering seafood sustainability is that there are a ton of resources I could use for it. Also, being ecofriendly is a huge trend right now. A green story would go over well. Some cons would be that not everyone likes seafood; I'd be writing to the percentage of people that eat seafood and actually care, which limits my audience. Also, it's hard not to sound too biased and preachy when covering environmental stories, especially because I'm really into saving the environment.
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