To Delay or Not to Delay

             Leads can be a tricky thing. Much like trying to come up with a topic to write about, trying to figure out how to begin your article is the hardest part. Sometimes it’s easier to dive in and start writing, leaving the formation of your lead until the end. But sometimes it’s only after crafting the perfect lead that a writer is able to continue with the story.

            The principal strength of summary leads is that they are very informative. They’re straight to the point, they communicate the important information effectively and immediately, and the reader only needs that one paragraph to know what the article is about. The problem, though, is that they can be boring and unoriginal. The typical news article is written with a summary lead and sometimes I would like something different.

            Delayed leads are usually far more interesting. They draw the reader in and make them want to continue reading to see what the article is about. The danger in this type of lead is that it can be confusing. The enigmatic quality that is usually the appeal of delayed leads can also cause the reader to stop reading if the first paragraph sounds too random.

            I think it all depends on the article. Certain types of articles require a summary lead while others work best with a delayed lead.

            When I first read “Mud, massages, mouse on St. Lucia”, I was a little unsure where the article was going, but I kept reading to figure it out and it ultimately worked for the piece.

            Here is lead:

            “We had only been at Rendezvous, our “couples” resort, for an hour, and we were flunking Romance 101. Maybe it had been a mistake to book the romantic candlelight dinner on the beach for our first evening here. The wind kept blowing out our candles so it was too dark to read the menus. Plus, we were famished — all we’d had to eat all day were airplane snacks.”

The Profane, The Sarcastic, The Humorous

              Journalism comes in many forms, a fact that is proven more each and every day. One form that I have recently begun to explore is Gonzo journalism, which can be accredited to Hunter S. Thompson circa 1970 (see previous post). It’s a combination of journalism and fiction that is partly based on the personal experience of the writer. Thompson was inspired by William Faulkner’s idea that, "The best kind of fiction is truer than any kind of journalism."

            I find this rather interesting because the subjectivity of this style appeals to me immensely. Traditional journalism takes a detached and objective approach and is focused on getting the hard facts. Gonzo journalism strives to capture the personality of the topic in addition to the topic itself. It utilizes emotion and experience as writing tools. Sarcasm, humor, exaggeration and profanity are also frequently employed in this style, which tends to “tell it like it is”.

            The more I research Gonzo journalism, the more passionate my opinion becomes concerning the rules (or lack thereof) of writing. I think people should express themselves more freely in their writing and not try to fit into a mold. I’m not saying that they should go to the lengths that Hunter S. Thompson did in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, but I do believe that we-as writers- should not be afraid to tell a story as we see fit. 

Non-Creative-Fiction

            Last semester I took ENGL 501 Intro to Creative Nonfiction. I had no idea what the class would be like. The name in itself confused me. Creative. Nonfiction. Aren’t those supposed to be separate things?

            After finishing the class, I had a better grasp of what creative nonfiction is. I realized that nonfiction doesn’t have to be written in a dull or stagnant manner. The lines between creative writing and nonfiction writing don’t have to be so black and white. They can meld and blend and merge and bend. In writing, there is only one rule. There are no rules.

            In Chapter 6 of our textbook, it talks about how reporter Tom Wolfe popularized his feature-writing style, in which journalists borrowed techniques from novelists. Another central figure in this “New Journalism” movement was Hunter S. Thompson, who wrote Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, which I read in my ENGL 501 class.

            This was a very unique book. The story’s plot is crazy enough but what struck me most was Thompson’s writing style. It had never occurred to me that you could write news in such an interesting way. To be honest, I had always thought of reporting as cut-and-dry. But after reading Fear and Loathing, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that was not the case. 

A Softer Lead

Even to this day former Rhode Island governor Don Caricieri remembers the tense moments that families endured at a hotel while waiting for word that their relatives' remains had been identified and how people came together to support each other.

"At a time of our state's worst tragedy, in some sense, it was our people's finest hour," he recounted.

Now, as the 10-year anniversary of the nightclub fire that killed 100 people approaches, survivors as well as the families of the victims will gather on Sunday for a memorial.

Summary Lead

The world suffered the loss of its most famous talking bird- Alex, an African gray parrot, who died last week at age 31 of natural causes.

I Pray to Thee, O Writer of Mine Sustenance

            I want to be Michael Pollan.

            Maybe not the middle-aged man part, but definitely the food journalist part. He is a foodie, a writer and an intellectual, which is a combination I have been striving for my entire life. The Botany of Desire, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, and In Defense of Food are just a few of the books he has authored, all of which I have read and all of which I regard as religious texts (food is pretty much a religion, as is his writing style).

            What I enjoy about Michael Pollan’s writing is that it isn’t boring. I’m used to the fast-paced, intelligible world of fiction, so it takes a certain kind of non-fiction to hold my attention. He writes in a completely atypical sort of manner, one that is surprising and balanced. Surprising in the sense that his language seems unbounded by the harshly constructed peripheries that plague most prose (he uses sarcasm and irony) and balanced because he writes in a way that is both thought-provoking and uncomplicated.

            I’ve grown up idolizing Michael Pollan; he is partly responsible for my choice of career. When I thought about what to study in college, I was stumped. I liked food, but I didn’t want to be a chef. And I liked writing, but I didn’t want to be a novelist. Then I realized: why don’t I just do what Michael Pollan does and combine them? He writes about food for prestigious magazines, is interviewed for movies like Food Inc., and actually seems to make a difference in the world.

            The future of food writing- as most sectors of literature tend to be- is uncertain. But because there are iconic figures such as Michael Pollan, I have something to shoot for. He is paving the way for food writers like me and when I grow up, I will follow in his footsteps- fighting for a more sustainable gastronomic future. 

A Passion for Passion Pit

            “That you never leave


            Ohhoo ohooo ooo, never


            That you never would believe


            That you never, no....”

            And so begins the song “Constant Conversations” by the indie rock band Passion Pit. Hailing from Cambridge, MA, the band has released an EP and two studio albums since they formed in 2007. They are currently on tour to promote their 2012 album Gossamer-which features the hit singles “Constant Conversations” and “Take a Walk”.

            After playing shows at Boston’s Agganis Arena and New York City’s Madison Square Gardens, the band will make stops in Canada and South America before returning to the United States for Coachella in April and the Bonnaroo Music Festival in June.

            I had the distinct pleasure of attending a Passion Pit concert on February 13^th at the State Theatre in Portland, ME. Located on Congress Street, the historic theatre features Art Deco aesthetics and intricate furnishings such as wrought iron stairs, lofty ceilings, bronze doors and tapestries. An exquisite blend of the new and the old, it was the ideal venue for the irresistibly catchy tunes.            

            Dancing. Jumping. Swaying. Singing. From Icona Pop through Matt & Kim and into Passion Pit, the energy of the crowd was utterly palpable. It rose from a rumbling simmer to a frenzied pulsation as the fans and the musicians collided in a perfect harmony of synchronicity.

            Maybe for Passion Pit it was just another night in another city, but for those moments when everyone at the concert fused into one collective being, it was like we were all there for some greater purpose.

            

Where Do You Want To Live?

             It is on Wednesday, February 20^th that Housing Reapplications and the $500 Housing Deposit must be submitted. The University of New Hampshire requires students to meet this deadline or else they will not be able to partake in the apartment selection process for next year. Their only other option is to add their name to the Housing Waitlist.

            February 20^th. Wait. That’s in five days.

            Due to its imminent nature, this is big news for UNH students that live in the Gables or the Woodsides. And so campus is buzzing as people discuss where-and with who-they want to live for fall semester 2013.

            I, personally, have thought little about the matter. I only moved in to my Gables apartment three weeks ago and am still getting used to the location and my suitemates. Next school year seems awfully far away, but for the Department of Housing, things need to be decided sooner than later. Because it takes so long to place everyone into the appropriate housing, applications must be submitted months ahead of time. That leaves us UNH students scrambling to get our lives together.

            Whether you’re squatting your apartment, moving to a new complex or heading off campus, you better decide quick. The deadline is approaching swiftly.

            

Two Injured in Belmont Car Crash

No streetlights. A dirt road. A white Mustang speeding around a curve.

Mile Hill Road was the site of a car accident that injured two teenagers at about 9 o'clock Tuesday evening. The car swerved off the road, crashed into an embankment and flipped over onto its roof.

"I've never seen a car going so fast on this road. It's really easy to lose control," said Josie M. Crandall, who witnessed the accident and called the police.

The driver,seventeen-year-old Jamie Peterson, managed to crawl out of the crushed car on his own while the other two passengers were rescued using the Jaws of Life after an intense 45-minute operation. The victims, both young females, were taken to Memorial Hospital where one was airlifted to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

"I thought the worst. They were flying. It's hard to see kids your age in something like this," said Tom Carroll, Jr., who had been driving behind the Mustang.

An Uncertain Future

            Since when did blogs become so popular?

            They’ve been around for a while, but in the last few years they’ve been drastically increasing in popularity. They’re literally everywhere. And now every type of blog exists: cooking blogs, travel blogs, fashion blogs, school blogs?

            It strikes me as interesting that I am required to create a blog for three out of my four classes. I had never had to do this beforehand for any class and it seems like the idea crossed the minds of my teachers all at the same time.

            Last year I made a blog randomly one night when I was bored (and proceeded to only post one time), but other than this brief, impassioned instance I have no experience with it.

            I have a blog for my Spanish class, my newswriting class and my literary analysis class. This may be evidence of an ever-increasing trend toward technological application. Will every assignment I do, every exam I endure and every set of notes I take be on my laptop? Will I forget how to form letters? Is this the death of the pen and paper?

            And as my final question: if this semester I have three blogs, how many will I have next semester?

            (Cue horrifying Jaws-like music.)

            

On Your Marks, Get Set, Write

            Don’t worry. It’s not the end of the world. Well, actually…. it is the end of one world but it’s also the start of another. The world as we know it is constantly changing. No longer do the majority of Americans sit down for a leisurely read of the paper on Sunday afternoons. With today’s technology, they can get news anywhere, anytime.

            This extreme accessibility has caused many journalists to fear for the future of their craft. But, although people are relying less and less on newspapers, it doesn’t mean the end of journalism.

            What it does mean is that journalists will have to be able to adapt to whatever comes next.            

            As our textbook says, newspapers should understand that they are in the information business as opposed to the print business. People still want information. All that has changed is the format with which we deliver it to them.

            So what does the future of media look like?

            Who’s to say. All that we can do is be ready for whatever comes our way. 

Hannah Meet News Writing

           “You’ve written an article though, right?”

            I was talking to my fellow classmate Phoebe McPherson about our first writing assignment and what to do/how to do it. My answer was yes, but it was a very hesitant response, one that if I were to write it here would be followed by an ellipsis and perhaps a question mark.

            The truth is, I’ve never really written an “article”, at least not officially anyway. An article implies a news story and me and news haven’t ever had an actual relationship before. I didn’t write for my high school’s newspaper, my family doesn’t have a TV (i.e. no CNN) and I don’t read the newspaper.

            So how am I adapting to the requirements of news writing?

            I’m getting there.

            On Monday’s class, I almost had a stroke. Professor Marsters was talking about what a news story should be like (simple sentences, right to the point, uncomplicated language) and I realized that these things are everything I hate about writing. I’ve never written this way. Ever. I’ve always been drawn toward creative writing: poetry, short stories, lyric writing. The closest I come to non-fiction is writing in my journal.

            But talking to my mom today on the phone helped a lot. She told me that there are some parts or styles of writing that I won’t like. Some things I will just have to endure so that I can better understand the craft. And also, journalism is a very broad discipline. It’s not just writing articles for a newspaper. There’s feature writing and human interest stories, there’s magazines and National Public Radio. There is a whole realm of writing that I have yet to explore. And who knows? Maybe I will come to like news writing. We’ll just have to see how this next story goes. 

On the morning of Februrary 4th, a little girl and her ill grandmother were eaten by a talking wolf. They were saved by a huntsman who happened to walk by. 30 words

The little girl's name is Elisabeth (insert last name), who is also known as Little Red Riding Hood. She was on her way to her grandmother's house to deliver some food when she was intercepted by the wolf. When he discovered where she was going, he told her to pick some flowers while he made his way to her grandmother's house. He then proceeded to swallow the grandmother whole and put on her nightgown.