Real-Life Communication -- Solution
Here's what your query letter could look like:
Dear
Mr. Waters,
What could be more ambitious than climbing the world's
tallest mountain? And imagine if you're only 16 years old!
If
Tina Lang succeeds, she'll be the youngest American to ever scale Everest.
She's a high school student here in Denver. She is planning to be part
of a team that will climb Everest next June.
Lang's team is being
sponsored by many local businesses. Everyone in town wants this ambitious
young woman to succeed. She has been climbing since the age of nine.
By
using my connections in the community, I can capture the excitement that has
gripped this town. Business owners, mountain climbers, other townspeople,
and Lang herself will provide compelling evidence of the rewards of ambition.
Is
Ambition interested in a 2,000-word story on this amazing young woman?
I
look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Pat Black
There's
much more to being a freelance writer than writing articles. You interview
background sources for stories as well as the subjects themselves. You also
write query letters, synopses of what you're doing, outlines
and interview questions.
When researching a story, you need to be able
to skim through a lot of information, picking out important facts. You also
need to be a good listener to find stories and to understand your sources.
Most
important of all, of course, is the ability to write well.
"It's
a matter of craft. Writing is the ability to tell [a] story, the ability to
discern [a] story, to understand human motivation and human emotion," says
freelance writer Dave Greber. "It also means knowing about the technicalities
-- the techniques of writing. It really means knowing the language; having
a love for language and a love for words."