A Little Storytellin’

By MICK HOLIEN

You have no doubt heard about writer’s block – that malady that temporarily sidelines anyone who writes for a living,

It happens to me only on occasion but it can leave you idly sitting at the keyboard wondering whether the words are ever going to land on the end of your two or four or maybe six fingers.

You can from that description easily discern what type of typist I am.

But eventually if you are writing a column vs. a news story where the facts of the situation rule something will come to mind and the next thing you know today’s assignment quickly reaches fruition.

And now 100 words in that is where I was today.

I am kind of self taught but having completed my journalism credit at Estern Washington University I suppose that isn’t completely accurate.

My junior year in Cheney wasn’t spent in Cheney as J School students attended class in the same block as The Spokesman-Review and Spokane Daily Chronicle.

Part of the day was classroom followed by competing for the news with Cowles Publishing staffers followed by a next day beatdown as we honed our craft.

During that time I founded a weekly bowling paper full of feature stories on a robust-for-the-time bowling scene.

During those years some 74M were said to be bowling each week. About two-thirds of the level currently is keglers as the bottom fell out of the business ironically in my view when scoring became easier.

Making my way to Misssoula via the bowling ranks eventually I landed at KGVO where eventually I was named managing editor and with a staff consisting of one trained reporter and a batch of interns we worked day and night to present three different news blocks, morning, noon and dinner and for an eight year run dominated the state’s robust news scene.

But new owners like country better than news but before I was sent packing the editor of the Missoulian offered me a full-time gig which I manned covering breaking news for the next 13 years.

But upon leaving the Missoulian I thought maybe writing was no longer my future endeavor until the newspaper hired me to write a blog seven days a week which I readily did for about 18 months.

And thus came my discovery of my sheer story telling competence which I want to share with you tomorrow.

just sayin

 

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