Minitheories about Professional Writing based on your interviews

I found a big connection between Shirky's ideas about mass amateurization and my interview. The person i interviewed was not a professional screenwriter and the people he collaborated with were not professional filmmakers. However, they were able to write and produce two full length films without help from studios. Their films have been shot and screened locally at Purdue. I think I will elaborate more on this in my report.

The minitheory that emerged from my interview is that journalists are choice architects based on what they report and how they report on certain news stories. Journalists are gatekeepers in a sense that what they think is news, is news. I learned that Julie may go into the morning meeting wanting to do a story on a certain topic but she may walk out of the meeting having to do a completely different story. It depends on what the directors think is news. They tell us what we should be thinking about based on what they report on. I will also be tying this to Nudge and Agenda Setting Theory. Journalists have the ability to nudge us to a certain decision or conclusion every day.

It's amazing to me how even a career such as editing is overwhelmingly audience centered. The picture I had in my mind of what an editor does used to be that they were strictly concerned with other peoples writing and even ideas. This project has showed how the audience affects most aspects of publishing, not just writing. My interviewee explained that she came up with ideas that she felt the audience would be interested in, and then gave these ideas to the writers.

After reading through my interview transcripts, the mini theory I have come up with is as followed:

Although technology is changing, that doesn't pertain to all jobs. If programs and other technologies are not changing in a particular workforce, you still must remain educated. Even though you have completed your schooling, you must still keep up with your skills.

Basically, in my interview with Kim, I learned that the technology hasn't changed much in her career. I learned that even if the workforce remains the same over the years, you are still required to go to continuing education to keep up with your skills. Overall, as a legal writer, you never stop learning and being educated.

Jessica Martin

A professional writer has an obligation to an audience of viewer's and readers to research and reveal information important to their lives or interests. Reporters become a fountain of information for the public as they are relied upon and needed to perform the work that the public is unable or unwilling to do themselves. It is important also in the field for a writer to make sure that the content and information is structured in such a way to form a coherent plan of thought so that the audience can easily follow the stream of thought. From my interview, I learned that journalism is the foundation of the writing world as it requires the discipline to research the facts and actually sit down and write the information down in a way that is easily understood. Professional writing is distinguishable from the others as it is meant to elicit readers to perform an action or process cognitive thought rather than imagine possibilities.

I was shocked to see how involved my respondent was outside of her responsibilities at Cary Home. As a grant writer, she stays connected with the community and other organizations to maintain her professionalism and connections to funders. It seems as though she is always working to better her skills as a grant writer, in order to better serve her clients. Although writing is the main component of grants, communication and relationships is also a contributing factor to success and approval. The interview was very informational and provided a clear window to the grant writing process and advice for up-and-coming grant writers.

After my interview with Katherine Purple, Editorial Associate for Purdue University Press, I have realized Professional writers in a sense must be a jack of all trades. Before the interview I assumed Mrs. Purple simply edited manuscripts for books and journals both published in print and on the Web. Through the interview I learned this is not the case. Editing is only one of her many responsibilities. She also designs the layouts for the books and journals, which is a tedious and detail oriented task. She also serves as liaison for the freelance writers Purdue University Press has hired. If they have problems or concerns she must work through the conflict. She has to make sure everyone is meeting their deadlines, so the books will go to press on time. Then there is the paperwork that goes along with publishing books such as applying for copyrights and so on. In reality her job in the professional writing field requires her to edit, write, design, manage, and mediate.

I have noticed how vast the writing world is, and how so many careers revolve around writing. What I am interested in, however, is how there is not just one set way to write. Journalism writing is very different from business writing that you could find in a big company.

I also believe, through my interview, that recent technologies have made the newsroom somewhat lazy. They rely too much on press releases and e-mails from outside sources rather than finding the news themselves. These press releases and e-mails are often "filler" stories that take away form a potential news breaking story.

Grant writers need the ability to see the available means of persuasion –which is Aristotle’s definition of rhetoric. Grant writing is all about being able to take many different voices (written documents) and create one concise document. The grant writer must also be able to make a persuasive claim in order to get the grant passed. If they are unable to see the available means they will not have as strong of an argument as possible.