Saturday, October 22, 2005
Finished my article on religious diversity in Indianapolis for NUVO. It was one of the more challenging assignments I've had. A lot of searching for different sorts of congregations (and trying to make sure I didn't leave out anything, knowing that I was going to have to leave out a lot), mapping and calculating distances and driving directions, as well as a ton of phone calls and background research. I had expected it to be hard to reach the mosque people (it wasn't), since I know many mosques are understaffed, or not staffed at all, except by a handful of volunteers. I didn't expect it to be difficult to reach the pastors and priests, and it was. I guess they are as overscheduled as the imams are!
At any rate, the job reminded me again of one of the main reasons I love being a writer -- the opportunity to learn. One of the things we wanted to do with the article was give a sentence or two about each denomination/religion to explain the most basic concepts or how it differed from other Protestant denominations. Let me tell you, I now know more about the history and theology of Protestantism in America than probably 95% of the American population. I've long thought that the main benefit of school is that you are given deadlines to complete research/learning. Without those deadlines, it is so easy to put things off. Journalism gives you the same sorts of deadlines, which is great for those of us who are inveterate procrastinators. (like me...)
Of course, it feels great when you've handed in your work and no longer have that deadline looming over you. Deadlines do have their downsides, but at least they get us off our duffs. Now if I could only get a fiction deadline to work towards... ¶ 11:47 AM
At any rate, the job reminded me again of one of the main reasons I love being a writer -- the opportunity to learn. One of the things we wanted to do with the article was give a sentence or two about each denomination/religion to explain the most basic concepts or how it differed from other Protestant denominations. Let me tell you, I now know more about the history and theology of Protestantism in America than probably 95% of the American population. I've long thought that the main benefit of school is that you are given deadlines to complete research/learning. Without those deadlines, it is so easy to put things off. Journalism gives you the same sorts of deadlines, which is great for those of us who are inveterate procrastinators. (like me...)
Of course, it feels great when you've handed in your work and no longer have that deadline looming over you. Deadlines do have their downsides, but at least they get us off our duffs. Now if I could only get a fiction deadline to work towards... ¶ 11:47 AM
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Oh, yes, Pamela, deadlines are great motivators. I find they force me to organize, to move forward, when otherwise I might get stalled over some detail or other. I never have problems working, but sometimes I have difficulty spending too much time REworking!
Louise
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Louise
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