Monday, November 14, 2005
I no longer know what week it is...
Okay, We've made it! We went to convention and back, and I live to tell about it.
"You will never believe what I just learned," Elizabeth exclaimed. I use exclaimed here because there is not a better word to describe Elizabeth's excitement after almost every session. Her enthusiasm was intoxicating.
My six staffers that attended Chicago were not only fabulous behavior-wise, but they also made the most of the trip, even though their adviser was basically useless to them for 99 percent of the time. I hope we can capitalize on this excitement and energy. Based on today, our first day back, I'd say we have a chance.
Jake is working on redesigning the paper. Turns out the session titled "Find your inner tabloid" was true to its word. Jake has the tabloid bug, and he's spreading it among the staff. At first, I am a little hesitant about changing the entire format of the paper. But on second thought, what do we have to lose? If the staff wants to try, isn't that what I am here for? I want to help them explore their talents and opportunities. So, here we go, down the path of reformatting.
Now there is also a lot of energy about how we write, which gets me very excited. The convention staffers brought home a bunch of tips for getting better interviews and better story ideas. I didn't get too much of a chance to hear these details, but I'm sure I will in the upcoming days and weeks.
Of course, we didn't just learn in the sessions. The staff competed in Write-offs too, and boy were they successful. Jake earned a Superior for his commentary; Marie earned an Excellent for her news writing; and Andy earned an Honorable Mention for his newspaper layout. Awards aren't the only thing they got out of the contest though. We learned some hard lessons about spelling and some good lessons about writing on hard topics. I think they are pumped for more write-off opportunities now, like say the State series.
Well, like I said before, we've made it to convention and back. Now it's time to put our good experience to work. Staff morale still needs our attention, and we're putting together some ideas to coach writers on our path to improving writing. Hopefully, I'll have some good stories about that for next week!
"You will never believe what I just learned," Elizabeth exclaimed. I use exclaimed here because there is not a better word to describe Elizabeth's excitement after almost every session. Her enthusiasm was intoxicating.
My six staffers that attended Chicago were not only fabulous behavior-wise, but they also made the most of the trip, even though their adviser was basically useless to them for 99 percent of the time. I hope we can capitalize on this excitement and energy. Based on today, our first day back, I'd say we have a chance.
Jake is working on redesigning the paper. Turns out the session titled "Find your inner tabloid" was true to its word. Jake has the tabloid bug, and he's spreading it among the staff. At first, I am a little hesitant about changing the entire format of the paper. But on second thought, what do we have to lose? If the staff wants to try, isn't that what I am here for? I want to help them explore their talents and opportunities. So, here we go, down the path of reformatting.
Now there is also a lot of energy about how we write, which gets me very excited. The convention staffers brought home a bunch of tips for getting better interviews and better story ideas. I didn't get too much of a chance to hear these details, but I'm sure I will in the upcoming days and weeks.
Of course, we didn't just learn in the sessions. The staff competed in Write-offs too, and boy were they successful. Jake earned a Superior for his commentary; Marie earned an Excellent for her news writing; and Andy earned an Honorable Mention for his newspaper layout. Awards aren't the only thing they got out of the contest though. We learned some hard lessons about spelling and some good lessons about writing on hard topics. I think they are pumped for more write-off opportunities now, like say the State series.
Well, like I said before, we've made it to convention and back. Now it's time to put our good experience to work. Staff morale still needs our attention, and we're putting together some ideas to coach writers on our path to improving writing. Hopefully, I'll have some good stories about that for next week!
