Writing a compelling and moving piece of journalism (or any writing!) often requires one to turn both inward AND outward. Take Grace Baeb’s process of writing her winning entry for our Sports Writing Competition: when choosing a topic she drew on her own memories, because, as she says, “our own experiences are pretty powerful tools in writing,” but she also sought input from others while drafting, as “taking a step back from ourselves and getting as many opinions as possible is one of the most helpful things we can do to improve our work.”
Learn more about Grace’s research and writing process and get her book recommendations in our interview below!
How did you choose which sports topic to explore? Did you know right away what you wanted to write about, or did you mull over a few different ideas?
Figure skating was definitely at the top of my list in the beginning, since it’s the sport I’m in and pretty much the only one I know anything about. It definitely took a few good brainstorming sessions to come up with my final idea, though! I ended up just thinking back to my own memories of the sport and what stuck out over the years—I think our own experiences are pretty powerful tools in writing.
What research did you do on this topic, and how did you incorporate it into this piece?
I did lots of research just comparing artistic to non-artistic sports—I wanted to make sure I was super well informed on the topic before writing about it! Some of the best information I came across was from an article comparing hockey to figure skating, in which there were stats about the heart rates of figure skaters during a program. I found that super interesting—I did further research on the heart rates of hockey players, and made sure to include this in my piece. Finding good information took some digging, but it was totally worth it in the end!
How did the peer reviews you received on your draft help inform the final piece?
The peer reviews I received on my draft were beyond helpful! It’s always super awesome to get a fresh set of eyes on your work—I’ve often read my drafts over so many times that I can no longer find mistakes. It’s also great to have people with different ideas and brains letting me know what makes sense to them and what doesn’t. Taking a step back from ourselves and getting as many opinions as possible is, in my mind, one of the most helpful things we can do to improve our work.
What is the best thing you’ve read so far in 2021?
I absolutely loved Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi! I strongly recommend it.