Brief thoughts on your profiles

So see the post below about what's happening this week and next .... but I wanted to point out some things in your profiles THAT I LOVED. That show really why profiles and feature writing are so important. Because you experience stories in such a different way when you have details like these:

Smells

I love that so many of you noted smells in your piece. It's such a great detail that often gets left out. There was the hotdog guy's special spiced onions. The smell of cooked carrots, potatoes and spiced broth at Northern Bites. The surprising smell of baby powder on the anti-abortion protester.

Setting the scene

Rich details put the reader in the moment. At the Missouri Athletic Club, it was a vase renewed each day with red and white carnations and a plaque covered by a red napkin. The old nurse who lives in a house of light green carpeting and walls that appear to be the same shade depending on how the sun is shining through the windows. And all that unmoved furniture. The librarian's hidden office of wood cabinets and high ceilings, an inviting space if anyone ever came by for a visit.

Seeing the person

The librarian with thick gray curls clipped delicately behind her hand, her small hands. The anti-abortion with black hair that is the same color as her tracksuit pants and fabric boots. The nurse in her charcoal slacks and navy cardigan sipping tea on her couch. The waitress who, when she doesn't understand some pieces of Americana, says, "Hello, not American born." The cashier in her black shirt, pants and tennis shoes. The big cop in his light blue collared shirt who is really a big softy. And the hot dog guy in bushy beard, gloves and a black jacket too thin for the chill.


Details matter!