Great seeing everyone on Tuesday. The progress on your stories is exciting. We're seeing characters and narratives and tone and voice and telling details.  Of course, plenty of work remains but this is the fun part (or at least it's good to tell yourself that). Go back for that repeat interview. Change structure if needed. … Continue reading The Stretch Run →

Excellent questions for Grant last week. A lot of what he discussed applies to your work. Think bigger. Incorporate themes. Focus on texture and specifics to differentiate your story and make it stick with readers. And, of course, that it's harder to be simple than complicated. It was also telling how he finds material - … Continue reading Week 13 →

ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS BARREL-LESS, BRONCOS' NO. 1 FAN BACK IN GAME Date: Tuesday, November 4, 2003 Section: City Desk/Local Page: 25A Source: By Owen S. Good ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS Memo: Related photo p.4A Edition: Final Instead of the orange cylinder from his armpits to his knees, and his birthday suit underneath, Tim McKernan wore a void … Continue reading Rocky Mountain News story →

All semester, we've been talking about cinematic storytelling. Characters, arcs, details, scenes, fully-envisioned worlds. Now we're going to do a deep dive into what that means. In this case, we're fortunate to have an opportunity to pick the brain of screenwriter Grant Thompson, who will be joining us Tuesday for a special class. Thompson studied … Continue reading Week 12 and Grant Thompson →

Fun seeing your Humans of Berkeley photos and captions. After class, Spencer said, "Wow, we did some pretty great stuff." Yes, you did. And good to see how many came out to the Daily Pint. I thought Jed made an interesting observation: The work comes first, but the second most important part of his job … Continue reading Break and Week 11 →

Good job picking Jessica's brain on "13, Right Now". Her hustle and reporting endurance stood out. Thirty hours of tape. Visit upon visit. Showing up at the subject's house at 6:30 AM on her birthday to capture a scene. Same went for Jessica's writing process. Draft after draft, from messy to OK to pretty good to great. … Continue reading Week Ten →

Good to see you take advantage of the Warriors opportunity. In particular, Marcus Thompson's advice appeared to resonate. Focusing on the How and Why, getting to the 2 AM version of the person, and tactics to create trust. He also had an important point about just showing up. Let the subject become familiar with you … Continue reading Week Nine →

Excellent questions for Jason. He was full of good advice: reaching the 'canopy' to test an idea, aiming for propulsion in your writing, and employing the first person as a guide to hold the reader's hand (not dragging them). I also love how he pulled back the curtain a bit, confirming that, no matter how … Continue reading Week Eight and Warriors →

Excellent questions for Ann. She was impressed. Three thoughts from her visit that resonated, at least for me: 1) it's important to remember that you'll outlast the athletes and coaches you're covering 2) always be honest as an opinion writer because otherwise people see through it and 3) when interviewing, keep people going in "whatever … Continue reading Week Seven and Fagone →