Column writers take on 2nd piece, mag writers work on 'how to'

SACRAMENTO, Calif. USA - The columnistas in the column writing class are scrambling to get their second columns in by a noon Friday deadline. You can find their latest efforts listed with links to the right.

And feel free to comment, by the way. They need to know that it's not just me scanning their efforts.

The topic for this week was either a college-related piece, or if they so chose, they could write about the GOP debate Wednesday night.

Newt Gingrich

Kee-rist it was awful. I fell asleep when Newt Gingrich started foaming at the mouth about the media.

I like Golden Oldies, but in music, not in politics.

The magazine writers are working on How-To stories. We have some how-to-make pizza kind of stories, of course, but a few people are getting daring.

I turned down a couple of sex-related story ideas. I don't care if it is my last semester of teaching.

In the basic newswriting classes, the students next week will start writing in the lab, most getting the shock of their lives when they have to be (to them) unnaturally accurate and clear.

I just love reading those first news stories.

7 a.m. writing deadlines are just plain cruel

SACRAMENTO, Calif., USA - The deadline for the review of Saturday night's Taylor Swift concert was 7 a.m., which would have been fine, had the concert been over, at, oh, say 9 p.m?

Taylor Swift

But by the time I rolled in from Power Balance Pavilion it was midnight. And that late, writing anything except for snarky emails and bombastic political screeds is out of the question.

Except when that's what the deadline is when you accept the assignment.

Que lastima!

So after pounding out 600 words by 1 a.m., I slept on the review, then checked it at 6 a.m., more than a little groggy after only 5 hours of relatively restless sleep. (Taylor Swift dreams most of the night, go figure that.)

But the review is in, just waiting for the editor's workover and blessing before it goes up on The Sacramento Bee's website.

The review is a web-only piece, thus the early morning deadline. Have to catch people before they head out to Sunday breakfast.

Me? A nap is probably in order before launching the rest of the day.

Here is the link to The Bee review: Review of Taylor Swift's concert

And here is the cover from The Bee's home page Sunday:

And they are off! 100 student writers begin the semester at CSUS

SACRAMENTO, Calif., USA - With more whimper than bang, this week 100 journalism students at CSU, Sacramento were launched in my four classes, a flood of stories and columns and story ideas about to engulf everyone and everything.

The first group reporting in, with missives about the first week of school, will be the 25 students in Column Writing, an upper-division elective class in the major. A few have a little writing experience. Some already have their own web pages. The majority are realizing that they have been thrown into the deep end of the pool with precious little instruction on how to swim.

I reminded them on the first day of school that they have all volunteered for the class. And in coming weeks, I will likely remind them again,

The weekly column deadlines are not horrific - provided the students do some prep work and push their way through early enough.

But if history is any indicator, the majority of the class will wait until Friday morning to start any part of the project, with a noon drop-dead deadline facing them.

Such deadlines are the exception around most of the academic classes at my university, but not in my classrooms.

As soon as the columns trickle in, I will post them on this page (to the right) as I have in past semesters.

And as it is the last semester I will be teaching - at least at California State University, Sacramento - it should be a real sleigh ride.

Here's a brief video about deadlines that pretty amusing:

First draft, second draft, third draft - and voila - we have a column

WATKINS GLEN, New York, USA - My third column for the Finger Lakes Times is off to the editor (12 hours early, thank you very much) but not without some writing angst.

Normally a facil writer, this column was torture for me to put together, torture to rewrite and torture to research.

What?

The column starts with the backdrop of the U.S. economy (ah, examining that is torture enough...), but moves into a positive mode by suggesting that the Finger Lakes economy should lean heavily on promoting the wine industry (which includes agriculture, a big deal here). Then I get into politics - selling wine in grocery stores - verboten by state law right now.

The lessons from writing this column were many: research more (and earlier), let my column voice loose (been writing news all summer) and don't be afraid of draft, redraft and draft again.

It's a good lesson to take into the classroom this fall when I will be asking column writers to do exactly the same. Most college students want to write a quick first draft and turn it is as gold. It usually does not resemble any precious metal.

But moving into column four I have an idea to write about the activist culture here - or perhaps the relentless attacks on school teachers that I seem to read daily.

I am inspired by two videos I saw today of actor Matt Damon. He was raised by a schoolteacher, as was I, and his comments resonated with me.

The column ideas come so easily. But the writing? Jaysus.

Here's two Matt Damon videos, both provocative:

Column ideas buzzing like bees - but which one, which one?

WATKINS GLEN, New York, USA - Two columns into the new gig with the daily Finger Lakes Times newspaper has prompted a half dozen interesting column ideas. Maybe more.

And as the Wednesday deadline starts to get closer (48 hours minus 11 minutes from this moment), the question bouncing loose is which topic to choose?

We have had carnage on local highways (we need lower speed limits, around the wineries and tourist attractions). There is an environmentally nightmarish project proposed for just up the road to store propane in salt caverns. The movement to sell wine in grocery stores is gaining momentum (and liquor store owner enemies). People are getting more and more politically active here, organizing, fundraising, connecting.

And then there is Adm. Fox's project to raise money for a spay and neuter clinic in Mexico, with local people traveling to Jalisco as part of the deal.

In the meantime, national and state politics are starting to impact things locally. A recently approved New York State cap on property taxes already has school districts and municipalities throwing fits. Can anyone say, California's Proposition 13?

So much to write about, sooooo hard to choose -  the purpose of this blog actually. When teaching column writing, I advise students to use this device, or sometimes a letter or email to a friend, as a way to get the creative juices going.

Juices? That makes me think of wine. And the Finger Lakes Times just wrapped up a long series of articles about the wine industry in New York and how important it is.

Wine it is for this week.

Unless I change my mind in the next 15 minutes.