Ramiro Burr : Writing, Music, Journalism

This is the Speech Outline presented by Ramiro Burr at UTSA

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UTSA Downtown "How To Write Great Feature Stories"
10/15/2002 9:30 a.m., UTSA

The Topic

"How To Write Great Feature Stories" Music reporter/columnist/blogger Ramiro Burr reveals what hard-working writers need to become more efficient, and more importantly, how to identify and reach career goals. Never-ending deadlines, unfocused goals, and the daily grind can obscure your vision and cloud up the big picture. Burr covers the essentials in time management, goal assessment, and focusing on what is really important to reach your long-term objectives.

The Questions

Are you tired of endless deadline pressures? Do you wonder why you’re not a well-known author? Will you ever find time to work on the “great American novel”? Are your younger or less-experienced colleagues reaching career milestones before you? Would you like the secrets to making that success happen for you?

The Guidance

Ramiro Burr is a veteran music reporter, syndicated columnist, free-lance writer, and nationally recognized author, whose dynamic talk explains:

· Qualities that distinguish an achiever from a wannabe.

· How to clear the clutter of the daily grind and focus on the big picture.

· The secrets of working smarter, not harder.

· How intelligent organization and maximum efficiency can help you achieve your dream.

Through these points and more, Burr provides useful tips to define your career goals, utilize collaboration and delegation to focus on priorities, and devise a plan to realize your potential.

The Credentials

Ramiro Burr is a veteran journalist who started out as a daily newspaper reporter, and now also juggles duties as a free-lance writer, radio reporter, syndicated columnist, and book author. Burr’s music expertise was illustrated in his groundbreaking 1999 Billboard Guide to Tejano and Regional Mexican Music on Billboard Books. He is also a Billboard correspondent and a free-lance music writer published by Pulse, Rhythm Music, Songlines, Cashbox, Latina, Performance and New Country Music magazines, as well as the Houston Chronicle and Austin Chronicle newspapers. Burr’s book credits include the new revised 2000 World Music: The Rough Guide, by the London-based Rough Guides and the Hispanic Almanac, on Visible Ink Press.

Contact: Ramiro Burr, Music Reporter, 210-822-6089, Musicreporter@gmail.com. www.ramiroburr.com

OUTLINE: HOW TO WRITE GREAT FEATURE STORIES 2002

WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS OF A GOOD FEATURE STORY?

Tension
Conflict/controversy
Personality
Drama
Intrigue
Examples: How do you determine conflict?

i. Traditional fans are upset that Billy Ray Cyrus is on country radio.

ii. Local rock and pop groups are gathering for a WTC benefit

How do you make these topics come alive?

i. Information

ii. Explanation

iii. Relevance

WHAT IS AN EFFECTIVE PROCESS FOR PRODUCING A GOOD FEATURE STORY?

News Thinking: Original idea or a new, unique take on an old idea.

i. Unfocused thinking produces unfocused results.

Researching: Thorough understanding of the issues

i. Need to be clear on the issues and you can’t be clear without complete information

Reporting: Thorough interviewing to include as many voices as possible

i. Always collect more information than you need. That means talking to more people than you expect you use in the story.

ii. Challenging questions tend to bring out defensive answers, insight and color, and prevent article from being labeled “puff piece.”

Writing: Good storytelling will include a good narrative, comprehensive approach

i. Practice telling the story before writing it.

ii. Use only the best quotes that explain HOW or WHY things are. Capture the emotion.

iii. Tell the story through people and anecdotes

iv. Look for way to LOCALIZE and/or PERSONALIZE the story: How would this apply to/affect your readers?

Editing: Critical reading and editing will improve focus and tone

i. Have someone read the story out loud, listening for clarity and repeatedly asking WHAT is the story about and WHY is this important.

Polish: Final reading for flow, pace and impact

i. Give a final, relaxed reading of the story, with a nearby thesaurus, looking for words and adjectives that help bring impact and understanding. Eliminating excess words makes your piece stronger. This is where the writer becomes an artist with words.

YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO, BUT HOW DO YOU GET AROUND TIME AND DISTRACTIONS?

Brainstorming: Always considering new ideas

i. Reporters should never wait for editors to hand them assignments

Advance planning

i. Create outline of what the story is about

ii. Identifying appropriate sources to tell the story

iii. Identify sources that provide reaction and color

iv. Estimate research logistics (who you will talk to and where)

Adequate time: estimate the time required to do the job correctly

i. Give yourself enough time to not only research and interview, but also time to absorb, re-evaluate, keeping in mind the story needs to answer two basic questions:

1. Why is this feature important?

2. Why should readers care?

Time management: do something

i. If you have three weeks to deadline, do not wait until the last week

ii. Burr’s suggestions

1. Prep questions for specific sources

a. When interviewing, the WHY is more important than the WHAT

2. Consider e-mail interviews

a. Reach many people at once

3. Put out your first calls early in the morning.

a. Work while you wait.

4. Consult with an editor after finishing first rough draft. This is crucial because a lot of extra work and wasted time can be avoided by getting in sync with the editor.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT RAMIRO BURR

www.ramiroburr.com, (210) 822-6089