WRITING NEWS


I get to read my essay, "That Bike,"* for KQED, THE San Francisco NPR affiiliate, during their local 2-minute "Perspectives" segment!

It airs 3 or 4 times on the day it runs.

Google "KQED perspectives" and click on their audio archives for samples, or on submissions to get a better idea of what Perspectives is -- sorry, Blogger doesn't let me give you a quicker link from my Mac.

*On an earlier blog I called the essay "About A Bike."
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Here's what I emailed the editor, Mark Trautwein, this morning with my tightened up essay attached:
Hi Mark,

I'm a Writing Mama [he knows of our writing group, which is a bonus] sending along "That Bike," a possible essay for Perspectives. It's about a boy's stolen bike and the legacy it left.

Thanks for your consideration,

Anjie Reynolds
Marin City, CA

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Here's what I got back an hour later:

Hello Anjie

Thanks very much for sharing this with me. It's a very sweet and touching piece; it would make a terrific Perspective.

I have some problems with the top of the piece to discuss, and I'll need to have you do a timed read over the phone. So please give me a call -- 415-...-..... You'll need to get hold of me either today or next Tuesday because I'll be leaving town for a couple of weeks after that. If neither day works for you, let me know and we'll work something out.

Thanks.

Mark Trautwein
Editor, Perspectives

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Here's what I wrote back (immediately!):
Hi Mark,

I'm so glad you like the piece and I look forward to discussing it with you.

You can reach me .... I'm available today and Tuesday, so somehow we should be able to talk.

Thanks so much for your time,
Anjie

[Yeah, you didn't really need to read that email, but I couldn't help myself -- I don't want to leave any part of the process out!]

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Our phone conversation was really fun. (By the way, he has one of those deep, rich, typical radio voices, which threw me for a loop -- I guess since I'd never heard him on the station, I figured maybe he didn't make the cut and was mousy or lispy!)

His editing suggestions at the beginning of the piece had to do with making sure listeners could immediately a) place the piece geographically, and b) place Dane's age and the time frame for the experience. That was taken care of with a couple quick line edits.

When I read it to him on the phone it was exactly 2 minutes, so he said I should come to the studio with a couple phrases I could cut if need be.

Other than that, he just had positive feedback. He said he was just telling a group last night that if writers could tell stories well, they'd be on their way to having a good Perspectives piece. He said my essay told a simple story very well and made it very meaningful -- that I did just what he was trying to tell them to do. *sigh*

I have an appointment to record the essay at the KQED studio in downtown SF next Wednesday morning. He then emailed me his edited version of the essay (which I fully approve of -- how cool to have it edited FOR me!) so I'll have that in tow. He said they'll provide parking in their garage, unless I bike :)

I'm not sure when it will air, but I will definitely post it as soon as I know. It should be sometime within the next couple of weeks, and you'll be able to listen to it here in SF or via the website.

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Oh, yeah, this isn't an Oscar's speech or anything, but for the sake of documenting the process, I should mention that Karen (Url) and Mick each saw about 35 drafts of this essay and heard several hours worth of (pathetic!) talk. I also emailed a few fellow Writing Mamas to get tips on how to pitch my essay. I'm figuring out that more will happen if I just ask questions (of people I think can help) and listen to feedback.