A Serial Workshop: Day Three
Three Questions to Move to the Next Level
Editors can help writers reach deeper levels of understanding about their stories by using a basic journalistic tool: open-ended questions. (Of course, writers can ask themselves these questions too.)
- What surprised you about this …?
Good writers never lose their sense of wonder. Creativity expert Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, author of Flow and Creativity, argues that "creative individuals are childlike in that their curiosity remains fresh even at ninety years of age; they delight in the strange and the unknown." This question is designed to help writers cultivate ongoing interest and curiosity.
- What lesson did you learn from this … ?
"Critical thinking," as Richard Paul says, "is thinking about your thinking while you’re thinking in order to make your thinking better." This question prompts reporter to track their own learning.
- What do you need to learn next? Learning to write well is a journey, not a destination. This question helps reporters create their own paths for continuing education
These three questions can be the basis for a conversation but let's face it, talk is cheap. I think it's best if reporters freewrite responses, that is, write as fast as they can without editing. Often the result is something they can use in their story, or that contains the germ of an idea or phrase that can be polished, or drive the reporting and writing of a story in an exciting new direction. Ask them during any stage of the process--an interview, the writing, revision, etc.
Another Resource:
In Fieldworking: Reading and Writing Research (Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2002), ethnographers Bonnie Stone Sunstein and Elizabeth Chiseri-Strater use a variation of the three questions in their work with writers to help them track their attitudes and positions:
- What surprised me? Tracks assumptions and articulates preconceived notions and records how they change.
- What intrigued me? Tracks positions and makes writers aware of their personal stances toward their research topic.
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What disturbed me? Tracks tensions, "exposes yourself to yourself…requires honesty about your blind spots, stereotypes, prejudices…often leads to important insights."
Tomorrow: Four Questions in Search of Meaning
