From Melinda Phipps

A faint beat of music can be heard escaping from headphones as a continuous clatter of typing fills the room. Barely a word is spoken as the youth gaze intently into the depths of their Mac books. Oh, the wonder of query letter writing.

This week at Voices the youth have been writing query letters, which are propositions to the editors of a paper in order to sell your story idea. They consist of a hook, information on why they want to write their topic, where it would go in the paper, what type of story it is, and a description of their photographs. This is their first lunge into the world of journalism; at this step they are testing out topics and collecting supporting information. Accompanied by many gracious volunteers and information from brainstorming, the youth are finalizing their story ideas and proposing them to the Voices adult staff.

A few of them have also started to interview experts within their topics. For example Joe Cox, a youth apprentice, interviewed Matt Griffiths from the Audubon Society about his topic of bird watching. One reason for having interviews early is to help the youth develop their story ideas and it is also to helps them later on. After they transcribe the interviews– type up what their interviewee said–they can use the quotes in their articles.

Query letters and interviews are two HUGE necessities here at Voices and for any other journalist. And so far people are working away and getting them done.

Tune in next week for another exciting debrief on a week at Voices!

Thanks for reading,

Melinda Phipps (Assistant Writing Editor/ Youth Leader)