Good question, Ashley

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Can I Have Fun with Frisbees?

On Feb 20, 2009, at 10:37 AM, Ashley Moscon wrote:

El Peeze:

Guess what—I had a blast interviewing USU’s ultimate frisbee team. They are an interesting bunch! But I’m having a hard time knowing how to start my story. It’s hard for me not to put my own opinions in it. I wish I could write a column or something instead. This doesn’t have to be inverted pyramid right? So we can have a little more fun with this one? Do Feature pieces still have to be objective?

your pissant,
ashley

The omniPotent Peez rePlies:
That’s a good question, Ashley. You do NOT have to use the standard hard news structure, although you will want to move logically from one point to another in this just as in any other story. And remember the “Romper Room Rule”—Show, Don’t Tell. You can start with a strong statement, but then back out of the picture and use quotes and facts and description to show the reader what you want her to see.

The concept here is to come up with a general theme about the people or topic, and then build it throughout. For example, are these guys NUTZ? and is that a theme you would want to follow (and have info to illustrate)? Then you could start like this:

These guys are nuts.

Every weekday afternoon, rain or shine, hot or freezing, the core 12 members of USU's ultimate frisbee team hit the field—or more recently, the snow drifts—for a little....

<And now a quote that reflects “nuts”.... “The colder it is, the better I like it,” said sophomore friznut Danny Dischead, standing ankle-deep in melting snow, oblivious to the slush heaped up around his sodden Vans. “This is no game for wimps.”

Or do you want to compare them to slushy ballerinas—leaping in a graceful arabesque through the 23-degree air after a frisbee tossed just beyond his fingertips, and then smashing into a snowy heap? Or frozen Neanderthals, thumping through knee-high snow in shorts after the frisbee. Or whatever.

These choices can reflect your opinions, but you don’t actually have to come out and write an editorial. It’s easy to express your perspective through the details you select, the quotes and descriptions, and how you arrange them, without writing a column. That’s a different beast. Try to keep your own presence hidden, and let the story focus on your sources and their activity and quotes without distracting the reader.

That make sense? Do have fun.

El Peez