Find the Drama and Observe!

Today you started writing.  Some of you took the drama that you found yesterday and developed it into a full news report.  Others took the flash mob scene you saw today in class and elaborated on that.  Some even did both!

Regardless, the focus today was on finding the drama and observing the details.  If you can identify a good drama to write about and observe it well enough to catch the obvious and intricate details, then you will have a good story to write.

Tonight you will be challenged to do just that.  I want you to find three possible dramas.  Observe them, being careful to take down thorough notes.  Write a 5 W sentence for each one and then select one of the three to elaborate into a one page story in your writer's notebook.  Bring it to class tomorrow.

When writing the piece tonight I want you to think about journalistic tone.  It is more incisive and direct than the traditional narrative writing you are used to.  Check out the two examples below.

Bailey entered the fourth floor room and was immediately met with an icy chill. The disgusted gaze from the scantily dressed female leaning in a desk chair nearly froze the blood in Bailey’s veins.  The girl had long black hair and enough dark eye-shadow to paint a garage. Her lips were closed but their sneering shape spoke volumes.  Several thoughts raced through Bailey’s head.  Did I do something wrong? Am I in the right place?  Is this really my roommate? She struggled to squeak out a “Hello” before noticing something else was wrong.  There was only one lofted bed in the room, and it was already occupied.

Bailey O’Malley walked into her new college dorm room and was rudely greeted by her roommate, claimed two eye-witnesses.  Bailey’s younger brother Patrick, who entered the room right after his sister, reportedly said that the roommate, Sadie,  “was pretty nasty to Bailey. She refused to get up to help and even used profanity.”  After what was described as an “uncomfortable” introduction by Bailey’s mother, it was discovered that only one of the two beds in the room had been lofted and Sadie had appropriated it.  

The first one reads more like a fiction story filled with figurative language and emotional response. The second one is more direct and factual.  It is closer to a news story.  When writing investigative journalism it is important have a balance between both types.  You need to know when to shift between the two types and how to do it smoothly.  that is something we will work on throughout the unit.

The investigative journalistic writing is just getting underway.  There is a lot more to learn and do. It's a process that hopefully will all start to come together soon.

Until next time...