3.3

I don't think I feel like a journalist yet. I really want too, though. I am trying (learning, I suppose) to think about the world (and my various topics for articles) objectively and differently. I love the challenge of this type of writing. It forces me to cut out all of the BS fluff (that I secretly love) and get down to more of the nitty-gritty. It's very refreshing, honestly. Different than what I'm used to but I'm very eager to improve. I find laying the outline of a new story fairly easy. Unlike creative writing, there is a more formulaic way to go about it. Less options, which can be limiting I guess, but also so straightforward. I am surprised always at how much difficulty I have gathering information. I never know what is a better tact: Figure out my point/outline for the story before researching/interviewing (which seems wrong and artificial) OR "wing" the interviews with no real motive or point and write my article based on that. The latter seems more authentic but I feel that I need to find a better balance between the two. Again, I think that will come it's just not something I'm very skilled at yet. I'm curious how most journalists navigate this? How do they walk the line of not having an underlying motive/direction of their article but also not waste time with unrelated information while they figure it out?