How I Get By

June 28th, 2010 by Rob | Posted in Uncategorized |

Rebecca Pickett smokes medical marijuana daily to alleviate her debilitating headaches. Photo by Leah Arsenault.

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We could call this edition of the Saltcast “The Lexicon Show.” I define a few of the quirky phrases and words instructors at Salt use to help students focus their stories. Phrases like:

Circling the Stadium – A story starts much too far afield. The writing circles above a story like a blimp hovering over a sporting event only the story is on the field, not in the air.

Shoot the Puppies – There’s a picture of three puppies hanging in a classroom at Salt. A student from many years ago drew targets on the faces of the puppies then added this caption: “You Know What You Need to Do!”  Shoot the puppies means cut the tape you are in love with for the sake of the story.

Fishtailing – A story fishtails when it’s all over the place — back and forth, back and forth — not in a straight line.

All producers encounter these focusing problems, long-time and new producers alike. Recent Salt Radio student Andy Mills wrestled mightily with focus last spring. On this Saltcast, Andy talks about the value of focus and we listen to his story “How I Get By” about a medical marijuana user.

Happy listening!

Best,

Rob

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Podcast: Download (Duration: 14:35 — 33.4MB)

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