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Reporting & writingNew Journalism II1 reporting &

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Monday, 21 January 2013

New Journalism II: Structure and detail

Or, how films and novels can help your feature writing.

» Novelistic detail» Establishing scenes» Dialogue» Sketching» Feature structure


Reporting & writingNew Journalism II 2Monday, 21 January 2013

The raw material of scene and character

Detail

» How people look» Their clothes» Their houses (inside and out)» Habits, tics and mannerisms» Accents» What someone is reading or listening

to» What car they drive» What watch they wear» Etc.

» Tom Wolfe


Reporting & writing3

“ “New Journalism II

Detail

» Packing details in tightly

Today, Richards is a pirate in onshore mode. The mood is tavernish. Even though we are in the Royal Suite at Claridge’s, which has a grand piano (“Shall I have a go? You can bootleg it — hargh! hargh! hargh!”) and so many rooms that we never even go in half of them, Richards still brings an air of a man who has left his parrot, cutlass and Smee in the hallway — lest he need to make a quick getaway.

Interview with Keith Richards» Caitlin Moran, The Times





Detail

» “Status details”

His house in Hertfordshire is far less showy than I expected; it's a 40s pebbledash job with a shaggy lawn and a sauna hut at the end of the garden. It was on the market for £500,000 three years ago, but evidently he decided to keep it. It reminds me a bit of JG Ballard's old house in Shepperton, a warren of rooms into which he has seemingly dumped at random all his favourite things – a gold Ducati Monster motorbike, stacks of paintings mainly by and of Goldie, a tottering mountain of trainers, two husky dogs and – eek! – a giant boa constrictor in a tank.

Interview with Goldie» Lynn Barber, The Observer, 2009



Reporting & writing5New Journalism II

Drawing readers into the scene

Scenes

» In screenplays and novels, stories are told scene by scene» It gives the impression of being there while the story takes place

» Think of five words to describe this house




Drawing readers into the scene

Scenes

» Think of another five words to describe this street» (the house from the previous slide is on the right)




Eszterhas vs Berger – a clash of styles?

Scenes

» Berger was writing in the New York Times.

» His story answers Who, What, Where, When, Why and How in the top three pars.

» Eszterhas was writing for Rolling Stone – he had more time, more space, and comparative creative freedom.

» But both spend a lot of time setting the scene of their stories, with a forensic level of detail. » Camden, NJ




Scenes

» Spent hours at murder scene

He spent the night at the Family Theatre on Market Street in Philadelphia to sit through several showings of the double feature motion picture there- “I Cheated the Law” and “The Lady Gambles.” […]On the peeling walls he had crossed pistols; crossed German bayonets, pictures or armored artillery in action. Scattered about the chamber were machetes, a Roy Rogers pistol, ashtrays made of German Shells, clips of 30-30 cartridges for rifle use and a host of varied war souvenirs.

Meyer Berger» Report for New York Times, 1949





Scenes

» Harrisonville court house

The courthouse was built in the first decade of the 20th century. It is red-brick, three stories tall, topped by a cupolaed belltower and a flagpole. The bells ring once a year – on the Fourth of July. (…)The building sits atop a mound-like elevation exactly 16 steps above the neatly-swept sidewalk. A black iron railing leads to the south side doors, which are flanked by four columnar graystone pillars. The elevation transforms the courthouse steps into a stage. If Old Lloyd Foster, for example, who ebulliently runs South Side Prescriptions, glances out his store window at the courthouse, he is looking up. The building is at the tip of his nose.

Charlie Simpson’s Apocalypse» Joe Eszterhas





Scenes

» Soaked up scenic detail

They wore their hair long and untrimmed and grew chinbound moustaches and billowing beards. They wore all manners of beegum strawhats and cropduster clothes – always bluejeans and a lot of Army jackets, engineer’s boots, and $2 teeny-shoes which Old Lloyd’s son, Don, sold them at the Sears County Catalogue store. They played riotous Frisbee in the middle of the street and collected wilted flowers in back of Vann’s florist shop and decked themselves out with dead roses and carnations. They wore “love crosses” around their necks from which Jesus’ body had been blasphemously ripped away.





67 Kingsley Road, Maidstone

Scenes

» History of the house gives it character» Think about your five words that described it» Draw on its appearance, setting, and mood

» Pensioner killed with 20 stab wounds here in 2004

» Resident killed girlfriend in 1994

» Resident killed pensioner in 1992

» Nicknamed the “murder house”




The Murder House

Scenes

The house seems to be decomposing.The paint is cracked like old skin, and smeared with sickly stains. It looks damp. Touch it and it might give way like tender meat. The garage is gaping and hollow, like a wound.On Kingsley Road, Maidstone, the houses are lined up like tombstones in a cemetery but the dead are all buried at number 67. This is where Richard Cromarty, 67, was stabbed 20 times in 2004. Michael Allen, the killer of 17-year-old Cara Hepworth in 1994, called this place home. So did James Ingram, murderer of 79-year-old Edith Barrow, two years earlier.Why don’t they just tear it down? » Intro to a feature



Using descriptive passages in stories

Scenes

» When the word count & tone allows it» When it will benefit the reader» When fine detail about a place or a

person is key to telling the story» To set up action and tension (e.g. the

courthouse as a stage)» To ensure interviews are not just long

uninterrupted sequences of quotes» To turn key locations into characters in

the story» But don’t ramble. » Describe every detail



The power of dialogue and real voices

Dialogue

» Too often the voices of sources mirror the editorial style of the newspaper.» Short, snappy quotes in The Sun» Long, complex quotes in The

Times (Tony Harcup)» Real voices help to establish character» They add variety to the text» They add authenticity to people’s

opinions

» Quote this muppet verbatim




Dialogue

» A keen ear for voices

Charlie Bell sat on a trunk by one of the entries to the circus ring, watching the elephants. “Ain’t nobody leaped over ‘em for twenty-four years now,” he said pityingly. “I don’t see how they handle ‘em. Nothing keeps an elephant in place like being leaped over. Makes ‘em feel they ain’t so big.”

» Interview with the last elephant leaper employed by the Ringling Bros state circus.

AJ Liebling» in Randall’s The Great Reporters





Dialogue

» JW Pepper

“There was no doubt about it,” said 60-year-old J.W. Brown, editor and publisher of the Democrat-Missourian, a flatulent pipe-smoking country gentleman. “What we had here were our own hippies, settin’ up there, raisin’ hell, callin’ our women names, drinkin’ wine and smokin’ some of that marijuana. I even heard they was right up there in the bushes havin’ sexual intercourse. Yes sir. Sex-You-All intercourse. Now those old drunks who used to set up there, those old boys never did any of that.”






Dialogue

» Got dialogue from local editor

“I’m a friend,” the newspaper man said. “I want to know what they’re doing to you down there.”Unruh thought a moment. He said, “They haven’t done anything to me - yet. I’m doing plenty to them.” His voice was still steady without a trace of hysteria. […]“Why are you killing people.” “I don’t know,” came the frank answer. “I can’t answer that yet. I’ll have to talk to you later. I’m too busy now.” The telephone banged down.

Meyer Berger» Report for New York Times, 1949




Using dialogue creatively: tips

Dialogue

» This won’t work in every story» In hard news using people’s flawed

language will make them look stupid» That might not be the tone you were

looking for

» But in features, interviews and profiles clever use of dialect, turns of speech and quirky phonetics can paint a vivid picture of your subject

» Don’t mock his lisp



Holding up a “fun house mirror”

Sketching

» Political sketch writers use similar caricaturing techniques to those of the New Journalists.

» They hold a “fun house mirror” to Parliament.

» Like any caricature, they only work if the end result is recognisable – and based on exaggerations of real detail.

» The more detail you collect the more material you have for your sketch.

» Sketches use fine detail




Sketching

» Clever use of detail

The minister, charged with answering, a Lib Dem called David Heath, usually quite a measured fellow, adopted a highly aggressive manner. He charged into the fray like a bull who, thinking he has just found a pleasant china shop, realises he has stumbled into an abbatoir.The gist of his argument was that (1) he wasn't to blame, (2) it was someone else's fault and (3) he had nothing to do with it. The rest of the Commons, chiefly Labour MPs who loathe the Lib Dems, and Tories who believe that the Lib Dems are the horsemeat in the coalition, didn't entirely accept this. In fact they were extremely cynical.

Sketch of horse meat debate» Simon Hoggart, The Guardian





Sketching

» Sketch advice

The best way to describe how dull a dull event is, is to tell it straight; the trouble with writing ominously about this sort of thing is that you make it sound ominous, and the trouble with being amusing about it is that you make it sound amusing.

AJ Liebling» in Randall’s The Great Reporters




Putting it all together: long form journalism

Structure

» Carrying a story over 3,000 words requires planning and structure.

» Think about:» Narrative arc» Recurring and repeating themes» Moving from scene to scene

» Use box-outs and sidebars for:» Factfiles» Case studies» Background » Multiple case studies



Charlie Simpson’s Apocalypse

Structure

» Intro describes the town. » Is this effective?

» Then jumps to the shootings.

» Flashback

» Goes to chronology: who are key characters? Why is there friction between generations? Builds back up to the shootings & aftermath.

» Starting at (or near) the end



Meyer Burger’s more conventional style

Structure

» Tells you right at the beginning who did it, how many dead, where it happened, how it happened etc.

» Then goes back over everything chronologically in painstaking detail.

» The intro isn’t a spoiler – the level of detail in the main piece keeps you reading even though you know how it ends.

» The howdidhedoit plot



Subverting the form

Structure

» Journalists do this too (e.g. when a source won’t talk, and why)» Used sparingly and effectively, letting the reader see behind the curtain can give

them extra context by which to assess sources or themes.

» Tyler Durden points out that a new reel needs to be put on during Fight Club.

» Known as breaking the fourth wall.

» Similar to “Reader, I married him” (Jane Eyre)





Structure

» Breaking the fourth wall

I was wearing a tie and a blue blazer and the next few days I wore the same get-up, exaggerating the effect, walking around with a fat Special Corona 77 cigar sticking out of my mouth. I sought out townspeople in the most razor-backed bars in town, buying them beer and malt liquor and getting them to talk. I slicked my hair back above my ears and bought a bottle of gooey hair-oil and – with cigar and coat and tie – I must have looked respectable enough to them because pretty soon they were buying me beers. I told them I was from a magazine in San Francisco and forgot to say which one.





Breaking the fourth wall: advice

Structure

» Readers don’t want to read about you just doing your job

» “I called x on the phone” or “I interviewed y in her office” is boring.

» But if you’re tracking down a recluse, then how you did it will help to establish how much of a recluse they are.

» Be aware of “Chatham House rules” though… some things should not be shared.

» Rab Florence: full disclosure



Interviewing – and a little challenge

Next week

» Write a sketch or caricature of a person, place or event – max 400 words by 5pm Friday. Prize for best!

» It can be anyone: someone you know, or a celeb, but it must be well observed and detailed.

» Next week: Long form interviews» Lynn Barber » Caitlin Moran» Tuesday: Bring one you like, and be

prepared to say why!» Lynn Barber

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