Let Lane Explain
A practical refresher
So we've got these cool weekly "brown bag" shop talk lunch sessions here at the SPT with people who either work at the paper or come in from somewhere else -- Anne Hull did one, and Dennis Lehane of Mystic River fame, and Pulitzer winner and Gangrey lurker David Finkel's on deck for next month -- and a couple weeks back in-house Lane DeGregory led a session on how to find stories. It's something she's done before, including a few years ago at Nieman, but it was SO good to hear this stuff again. It never gets old, and it's applicable, I think, to anyone and everyone, no matter what they cover, no matter where they work.
Here, then, are Lane's 20 tips and stories:
1. Talk to strangers: Be a nosey neighbor, sit by the old woman on the swing, everyone has a story.
2. Play hookie: Roam aimlessly, let someone else drive, ride the bus, walk the docks, look around.
3. Read the walls : Check bulletin boards at libraries and Laundromats, buy bad papers, scour the classifieds.
4. Sit the bench: Be a fly on the wall, eavesdrop at beauty parlors, eat lunch alone
5. Make freaky friends: Opposites attract, befriend photographers, use your friends for ideas and contacts
6. Get a life: Eat dirt at the drag strip, join bowling leagues ? not junior leagues, go to festivals
7. Ignore important people: See who's in their shadows, who's holding their coattails, write around celebrities
8. Celebrate losers: Dreams don?t always come true, ask people about their failures, lessons learned
9. Wonder: Who would ever?: Here's to you, Mr. golf ball picker-upper, someone has to do it, why is it that?
10. Hang out at bars (or coffee shops): Check out different dives, try a martini, always come back to Cheers.
11. Give everyone your phone number: Keep in touch, don't dis PR people, ask what else is going on.
12. Be late: Old news is good news, it's easier to talk after the arrest, whatever happened to ...
13. Work holidays: Relish rituals, find faith, be with others who can?t celebrate, first-time, traditions.
14. Take stories no one else wants: Make people care, write for other sections, find a way it hasn't been done.
15. Look for the bruises on the apple: Ask uncomfortable questions, celebrate conflict, sucks for them.
16. Lie on the floor, climb on the cabinets: See stories from a new angle, write from a different perspective, seek other stakeholders.
17. Listen to the quiet: The sound of silence, what doesn?t happen, questions not answered.
18. Go along for the ride: Invite yourself over, scan the bookshelves, ask for photo albums, vacuum the scene.
19. Play dumb: Repeat the important questions, why don?t I get this? Find the crux of the biscuit.
20. Don?t be afraid of yourself: Share your life, open up, tell stories, take risks, wherever you go, there you are.