You have to do your homework.
Sports columnist Jenni Carlson communicated this key message to students in my opinion writing course when talking to them about writing sports commentary.
Carlson, who has worked at The Oklahoma since 1999, spoke via telephone last week to the class.
“What you gather in advance is crucial,” Carlson said about interviewing and information gathering before she begins writing a column. It’s a process Carlson calls doing her “homework,” and she said it’s not the “magical, mystical process” some people perceive.
“If you expect to sit down at the computer and just have words flow out of your fingertips… that’s just not going to happen,” she said.
Writing sports commentary means having a strong opinion, but you need more than that, Carlson said.
“The important thing is that you’ve got information to back up what you’re about to write,” she said.
After doing her homework, Carlson said writing the lead is the most time-consuming.
“It’s so important to hook the reader,” she said.
Without that hook, you’re “begging the reader to stop reading,” Carlson said.
How long a column takes depends, Carlson said. She said she’s spent four hours to two days working on a piece, depending on the deadline time allotted.
To prepare for a journalism career, Carlson urged students to “write, write, write.”
“Just try to write as much as you can,” she said. “Don’t neglect your writing. Try to write something every day.”
