My class ran long, and that was my fault. But no one in the room said anything. And that was the students’ fault. It was a fun class, I thought. We talked about the stories they are going to be writing next. I’d just handed back their first papers, some of which were very good. The next ones will be even better — more practice, feedback and so on — but also the story selection I heard about today was intriguing.
I feel like story ideas can be something you’re either blessed with or something you learn. I had to learn it. And, to be honest, I’m amazed by people that can just rattle off a dozen ideas in one breath. I can too, usually, but it doesn’t come naturally to me.
So, on Wednesday, I told the class about a guy I know who brings a baseball cap into his classroom and does not let his students leave until they come up with 50 story ideas inspired by that hat. (Give it a try some time.) You are lucky, I told my class, I’m only asking for three for Friday. And everyone had at least two good ones today. Now it is up to them to turn some of those into great stories.
After this round of articles I’ll ask them for a lot more ideas. It all builds, of course.
It is cold out, but dry in my part of world, at least. To the north there is ice, there are accidents, there are road closures. I got nice views of the evening sky:
Also, I met this truck. From a bit further back it looked like a stack of rockets.
Propane tanks, rockets, whatever. It makes a nice close to the week, considering I saw pretend-rocket nose cones on Monday.
Things to read … because it is the weekend.
Go to where your audience is, ABC News Launches on Xbox One:
ABC News announced today the launch of its app for Xbox One. Debuting as the first U.S. news application on the gaming console, the ABC News app will offer immediate access to multiple simultaneous streams of live video as well as on-demand content, entertainment news, original programming and highlights from ABC News programs.
During Oscars weekend, the app will feature clips and live video from ABC News’ extensive coverage, including interviews with nominees and segments on Oscars fashion, trends and history.
“The app for Xbox One is a major step forward in our efforts to develop new creative forms of storytelling and put ABC News everywhere people get their news and information” said ABC News VP of Digital Colby Smith.
Well … How 25 years of Photoshop changed the way we see reality
This is an NPR Ebola feature, one of the better stories I saw today: Life after death. Feels like the now-an-advertising app Tapestry. It is very immersive. The photography is sharp and the thing that, to me, makes NPR work really stand out: taking the time to find the right audio, which gives the piece an incredible directness.
And the coding, at first glance, looks straightforward. Nice stuff all around.
Enjoy your weekend!
