tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489081786433198045.comments2023-10-09T13:17:08.094-04:00Tell me a storyScott Blanchardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15991159243837923110noreply@blogger.comBlogger315125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489081786433198045.post-9865997070947760102012-09-02T22:06:14.768-04:002012-09-02T22:06:14.768-04:00I'm a month or two behind on this - but I read...I'm a month or two behind on this - but I read "Generation Kill" when my brother was in Afghanistan ... or shortly after he returned. Generally, I think I like narratives that connect to a bigger picture more. It's easy to get caught up in the action/plot of a book but beyond the raw emotion of a particular scene, you're not necessarily left with something broader to take home. I appreciate it when a writer does the work of extrapolating for me. I guess that makes me a lazy reader. If you want to round out your tour of war narrative, you should check out "Jarhead." Susan Jenningshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04715429530097687393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489081786433198045.post-2071081519748112642012-06-19T17:53:08.203-04:002012-06-19T17:53:08.203-04:00Finding an ending point for this story was a chall...Finding an ending point for this story was a challenge more for Leigh than it was for me, I think. My biggest challenge for this story was finding time to spend with Matt and Houston, as well as making pictures that had a sense of urgency (since we were unable to accompany them to Boston, where they ended up staying longer than anyone expected). I'll blog more about this on the YDR staff photo blog LOOK, but while we've finally been able to publish this story, Houston's story clearly isn't over -- and I'm hoping/planning to continue following him on his journey for a little while yet.chrisdunnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06733648044938897161noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489081786433198045.post-75936914911830171702011-12-08T20:23:58.565-05:002011-12-08T20:23:58.565-05:00Blake, thanks for the note. You're absolutely ...Blake, thanks for the note. You're absolutely right they're really tips for any writer doing any kind of writing. And when you think about them, they really amount to a kind of common sense-approach to writing. RPC said a couple times during the webinar that the No. 1 goal, after all, is that the reader understands what you've written.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18070544514243407306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489081786433198045.post-9565431807658628702011-12-08T20:19:35.193-05:002011-12-08T20:19:35.193-05:00While I'm not directly affiliated with any new...While I'm not directly affiliated with any news media outlets, these are great tips for anyone that writes. As an amateur blogger, I'm always critical of what I write and strive to make it easy to read and understand.<br /><br />I tend to become long-winded at times and feel I can go overboard with details, but if laid out properly, those details can make an average blog post great.<br /><br />Thanks for sharing these tips. I'll surely try to utilize them in my blog.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11403134643992994030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489081786433198045.post-20211855330109069462011-11-23T21:08:37.591-05:002011-11-23T21:08:37.591-05:00Re the photo blog, it would be a question of how e...Re the photo blog, it would be a question of how easy/hard it is to post to Wordpress via smartphone. With Tumblr or Posterous, you just e-mail photos and they show up in a post. I'm not sure Wordpress has the same capability. But we should look into it.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18070544514243407306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489081786433198045.post-56463680877741490512011-11-23T19:44:30.750-05:002011-11-23T19:44:30.750-05:00Maybe if we set up a way to instantly blog phone p...Maybe if we set up a way to instantly blog phone photos via our new photo staff blog? I'm sure that'd be doable. But I'm not sure whether bringing in an entirely new social media tool (i.e., Intersection) is the right thing to do, in terms of usage (Intersection doesn't seem to have caught on too quickly) and copyright issues. (Regarding copyright issues, MSW and the Post have worked out an agreement with Intersection for his own project, from what I understand.)<br /><br />Sorry for the excessive use of parentheses!chrisdunnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06733648044938897161noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489081786433198045.post-20491209930127455022011-11-23T19:23:52.586-05:002011-11-23T19:23:52.586-05:00Chris, very cool. I read your blog posts -- great ...Chris, very cool. I read your blog posts -- great stuff, letting him talk about what he's doing and how he's doing it. <br /> The idea of capturing that 'instant story' is really intriguing. I wonder how we can work with that concept at the YDR. Any ideas?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18070544514243407306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489081786433198045.post-61731634682936685782011-11-23T18:24:58.116-05:002011-11-23T18:24:58.116-05:00I actually met MSW at Three Mile Island at the tim...I actually met MSW at Three Mile Island at the time of the annual candlelight vigil this past year. We each knew the other would be there, so we met up there earlier and I interviewed him for a 10,000 Words blog post about his merging the iPhone and Intersection for his long-term "Recession Road" project.<br /><br />Here's the 10,000 Words blog post I wrote: http://www.mediabistro.com/10000words/?p=3131<br /><br />And here's the "background info" post on my personal blog: http://blog.christhedunn.com/2011/03/30/michael-williamson-recession-road/<br /><br />A few days after we parted ways, MSW told me he'd gone ahead to York for an afternoon, at which point he made the pictures you found... on his iPhone. He's a really wonderful guy, and obviously a gifted photographer.chrisdunnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06733648044938897161noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489081786433198045.post-40973517932735200442011-10-04T17:18:15.884-04:002011-10-04T17:18:15.884-04:00Buffy, thanks for teaming up with me on it.
I ag...Buffy, thanks for teaming up with me on it. <br /><br />I agree with Chris -- this was great stuff. I think my favorite lines were, in no particular order:<br /><br /> --"It had rained cats and dogs. Ingolls hoped he wouldn't step in a poodle." (Landauer)<br /><br /> --Buffy's triple-cliche quote: "The situation was rotten to the core," he said. "And the water spread like wildfire. Good thing I didn't have none of them finer things in life."<br /><br /> --"Because it was a land of Milkbones and honey in the pet aisle, and Macon scooped treats for Butch up like manna from heaven." (Concilio)<br /><br />Honorable mention to Will for the times-they-are-a-changing ripoff, which made me think of what has to be one of the worst leads I've ever read. In a student newspaper (cut it some slack, I know), an aspiring scribe wrote, "For Virginia Tech, the times, they have a-changed."<br /><br />Because making the cliche past tense really makes it sing. It still hurts me to think about that lead.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18070544514243407306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489081786433198045.post-11174677728739389192011-10-04T15:16:19.015-04:002011-10-04T15:16:19.015-04:00What awesome fun and everyone's entries were r...What awesome fun and everyone's entries were really good, er, bad I mean.Buffy Andrewshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07033283884801658206noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489081786433198045.post-19015105828455203072011-10-04T15:15:10.682-04:002011-10-04T15:15:10.682-04:00This was tons of fun, Scott. Thanks so much for do...This was tons of fun, Scott. Thanks so much for doing it:)Buffy Andrewshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07033283884801658206noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489081786433198045.post-70390135130846779582011-10-04T15:08:17.648-04:002011-10-04T15:08:17.648-04:00This is an absolute boatload of awesome. ... All y...This is an absolute boatload of awesome. ... All y'all should be over here covering Friday night football games for me. Your talents are going to waste!Chris Ottohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13435979081891289688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489081786433198045.post-90704404302567313232011-10-04T13:25:42.623-04:002011-10-04T13:25:42.623-04:00It's always nice to take a moment, step back a...It's always nice to take a moment, step back and ask questions about a good piece of writing.Karahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07941527681218346452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489081786433198045.post-77292032634912226122011-09-30T10:52:41.465-04:002011-09-30T10:52:41.465-04:00I would love for us to do something similar. I was...I would love for us to do something similar. I was thinking that if we did this, we'd put a word limit on it. But maybe not. What do you think? And I think, too, that we should come up with some kind of series title/logo. Looooove it though. Let's do it!Buffy Andrewshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07033283884801658206noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489081786433198045.post-53735837498472144392011-09-26T16:13:10.268-04:002011-09-26T16:13:10.268-04:00Well-said Scott. This video haunted me for days af...Well-said Scott. This video haunted me for days after watching it. In fact, in my latest YA novel, the dad, who works in the ER, crumbles to pieces after dealing with a toddler who was beaten by a game controller. It's fiction, and yet it's not. Life if full of terrible, terrible things that happen and we want to scream at God and ask him why. Believe me, I've done plenty of that in my lifetime. And yet there is something we can do, something Jason did. And that is to tell this story so that no one ever forgets. We can't bring Darisabel back but we can tell her story in the hope of preventing this from happening to others. And that, my friend, is why we do what we do. We hope to make a difference, to find good in evil, hope in despair. Thank you, Jason, for sharing this story.Buffy Andrewshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07033283884801658206noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489081786433198045.post-71778854171832979962011-09-15T17:57:42.627-04:002011-09-15T17:57:42.627-04:00Really looking forward to this one, Scott.Really looking forward to this one, Scott.Buffy Andrewshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07033283884801658206noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489081786433198045.post-35486200759636743962011-09-15T17:50:18.569-04:002011-09-15T17:50:18.569-04:00This gave me chill bumps, to see how seemingly ran...This gave me chill bumps, to see how seemingly random things come together in that one moment. We are all threads in the tapestry of life, woven in ways we can't even imagine. One life touches another and another and are connected to become this thing called life. My WIP deals with some of this. Anyway....Buffy Andrewshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07033283884801658206noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489081786433198045.post-75515169321202172442011-08-11T21:39:18.053-04:002011-08-11T21:39:18.053-04:00Not sure if you've gotten to part 2 - but they...Not sure if you've gotten to part 2 - but they mention Daren Hidalgo (Dallaston native killed in February)Susan Jenningshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04715429530097687393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489081786433198045.post-72461908403364841832011-08-02T17:18:38.926-04:002011-08-02T17:18:38.926-04:00Thanks, Lauren. I'll definitely check that out...Thanks, Lauren. I'll definitely check that out. Thanks for sharing that piece on FB!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18070544514243407306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489081786433198045.post-46827530869247739452011-08-01T21:34:46.103-04:002011-08-01T21:34:46.103-04:00If you'd like to hear reporter Corinne Reilly,...If you'd like to hear reporter Corinne Reilly, photographer Ross Taylor and one of the doctors featured in the story talk about the series, they met with a local radio personality last week to talk about their experiences: http://www.hearsay.org/post/Between-Hell-and-Hope-A-Virginian-Pilot-Series-on-the-War-in-Afghanistan.aspxLaurenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14664703529227566770noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489081786433198045.post-52137102267192801192011-07-25T19:58:00.052-04:002011-07-25T19:58:00.052-04:00wow. I think I've been in that box before. gre...wow. I think I've been in that box before. great description.Susan Jenningshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04715429530097687393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489081786433198045.post-26467085697837493392011-07-19T21:42:55.160-04:002011-07-19T21:42:55.160-04:00Yeah, that's a great line. I also like the lin...Yeah, that's a great line. I also like the line about what would you write that wouldn't "enrage by its triviality" and the "don't waste time" quote from Michelangelo at the end. Basically, try to have something to say.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18070544514243407306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489081786433198045.post-28526401125708577152011-07-19T09:18:52.791-04:002011-07-19T09:18:52.791-04:00Thanks for sharing. Love this line:
"It is n...Thanks for sharing. Love this line:<br /><br />"It is no less difficult to write sentences in a recipe than sentences in 'Moby-Dick.' So you might as well write 'Moby-Dick.' "Susan Jenningshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04715429530097687393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489081786433198045.post-50309600152134313902011-06-10T15:45:58.794-04:002011-06-10T15:45:58.794-04:00Chip, thanks. Good to (virtually) see you again. Y...Chip, thanks. Good to (virtually) see you again. You talked briefly about writers "falling out of love" with the first things they put down. I think all of us have been in spots where we really, really don't want to do that. Any strategies on how writers can teach themselves how to do that effectively -- and or convincing themselves that they often need to do that?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18070544514243407306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489081786433198045.post-38118778222724381982011-06-10T15:06:16.453-04:002011-06-10T15:06:16.453-04:00Thanks so much, Scott, for such a generous review ...Thanks so much, Scott, for such a generous review and excellent recap of the Mastering Revision Webinar. Coming from a storyteller of your caliber, your post is high praise.<br />ChipChiphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18181090310480569907noreply@blogger.com