John Hatcher

Recent Actions

• Posted Post a brief update on your project here to Words about words
  Please provide a brief update on how your stories are coming and what you expect your story to look like for Tuesday's deadline. In other words, what have you done so far and what do you have left. I do...
• Commented on 10 QUESTIONS!
  I read your vision and you've clearly got great stuff, but what I wonder about is the tension or complication. A scene and people saying the choir is great and a few people and what they've been through and a...
• Commented on Writer feels vulnerable writing about herself for the first time
  Actually it doesn't... Yep. That's good stuff. You go looking for answers and want to hear that what happened to you was a common thing. And it wasn't. Take good notes as you explore this. About skype and trying to...
• Commented on Story idea is coming along...
  I like this story a great deal. I think you might consider two parallel narratives. One is the show and Josh getting ready. The other is his life and how it has gone for him. Jump back and forth between...
• Commented on What is my vision?? Good question..
  I think one of the great challenges is to show change in a person. In part because it takes visits over time to record this. You have to get to know them and then you have to get to know...
• Commented on What I'm Thinking So Far
  I already sent you an email on this, but the doctor and your experience and the waiting list... you betcha as we say in Minnesota. That's all part of the story. Carry on....
• Commented on 10 Steps Update
  Here's the book you must read: http://www.amazon.com/McSorleys-Wonderful-Saloon-Joseph-Mitchell/dp/0375421025/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1270243681&sr=1-1#reader_0375421025...
• Commented on NCAA Bylaw 17
  Obviously, you're too close to this story so you're not even going to pretend to be objective here. What I don't quite get with this story is how it's going to work. Think of the average reader, who really doesn't...
• Commented on 10 Steps Update
  It's going to be fun to watch this evolve. I do think you should look at some of Joseph Mitchell's work. Chris Julin also told me that in the Ripsaw there was a guy who used to go to bars...
• Commented on My Vision
  This is a very intriguing story. I do think it's going to be a challenge to write structurally, but I absolutely love the idea and I think others will as well. A journalist goes back to see how sources felt...
• Commented on Update in Story
  I think this story is going to be a mighty battle. I think Eric Gustafson's advice was dead on. It's not fair, but the story about the cancer is one that is hard to follow or comprehend and I fear,...
• Commented on Action and Reaction
  I think "The List" has great potential, but is going to be a challenging story to do well. The people who run the program are going to try to steer you off course. They're going to want you to write...
• Commented on Hopefully not another dead end...
  I think it has great promise. You may need to ride that bus a few times -- the whole route. And do it at a few different times. It also seems to be a story with great visual potential. Take...
• Commented on Story Update
  I am really intrigued by this story and hope you'll have the time to really dig deep here and find the story worth telling. You'll need to resist telling me the entire story of the softball league and instead try...
• Commented on My story process
  Be careful not to tell me everything about their lives. You're going to want to but that's not your job. Your job is to discover a story in that life. The obvious choices seem to be on the coming out....
• Commented on The Peace Bell
  Hard to give you much feedback here. I think that historical narrative can be a lot of fun. I think my first step in this story would be to go to the Northeast Minnesota Historical Center in the library to...
• Commented on I hope this story doesn't leave me stranded.
  How's the dancing coming? I think this is going to be fun. The video mixed in is going to make it a blast. Make sure it's not just all about you. Let's meet cool people on this journey....
• Commented on Update on my story idea....
  I would urge you to think about the moments and details and specific scenes of the trip where stuff happened. What stuff? I couldn't tell you. In Reporting and Writing II we just read Murray's advice. Write for surprise. Write...
• Commented on Lakewalk, first draft
  In some ways, I wonder what would happen if you ignored the urgings of Sam Cook and others to narrow and zero in on one theme or focus and instead went the direction of David Foster Wallace and wrote a...
• Commented on A Drastic Turn
  I think Uncle Loui's (however you spell it) will be a fun place to try out narrative nonfiction. I think you will want to first read all that's already been written about this place. I have had at least three...
• Commented on Relationship and Love story update
  You and I have talked about this story, but this update is a bit thin so it's hard to give you much feedback. You have a preconceived notion of this story. I guess my advice is to be open to...
• Commented on New direction, same idea
  I'm afraid I can't give you much feedback on this yet without any reporting. I think that the story has great potential. Restaurant culture is fascinating. I think it will take more than one shift to really figure out the...
• Commented on My story on a sea creature
  This story, as we've noted, has great potential and I like how much work you've put into it. I wonder if enough was done in advance to let this guy know the rules of this relationship. I hope you had...
• Commented on 10 things
  Everyone I tell about this story and everyone you've told about this story (like Eric Gustafson) agrees it has great potential. What I don't see in this update is much evidence of reporting yet. That makes me a bit nervous....
• Posted We've moved to DuluthCommunityNews
  The Duluth Community News site has a new life. Lake Voice is the name of the new student-run Web site of the University of Minnesota Duluth Department of Writing Studies. Check us out at http://lakevoicenews.org....
• Posted Details you'll need for final project to Words about words
  Writing project Specialized Reporting Overview: Students will create a magazine-length piece of narrative non-fiction using a sub-genre of their choosing on a topic of their choosing. In general, these projects will encourage writers to step out of their comfort zones...
• Posted Overview of midterm to Words about words
  Midterm overview Total points: 50 Section I: short answer (2 points each); about 20 points total Section II: two essay questions - 15 points per question (about four paragraphs) Graded using same criteria as blog - writer develops their own...
• Posted Post your suggested midterm questions here to Words about words
• Posted Molly Brown's surfing story with stuff to johnny's test blog
  By Molly Brown DONT FORGET THE BASICS LIKE CONTACT INFORMATION FOR YOUR WRITER. Here's a slideshow of surfing Every element has to have a caption. Even stuff that seems obvious. And every person has to be identified. Every piece of...
• Posted Molly Brown's surfing story to johnny's test blog
  By Molly Brown brow2294@d.umn.edu Surfing in Duluth may seem like an oxymoron, but for a group of avid followers, the frigid waters of Lake Superior are as good as it gets for action sports. "Early fall is the best time...