Today I want you to go out Foraging for Story Ideas. You will go out individually. Do not pair up or travel in packs. Fan out to cover more ground.
You need 10 story ideas EACH.
Look at the world through the eyes of a hunter/forager/journalist. Imagine that your life depends on what you find.
Look for posters, look in classrooms, talk to people (students, staff, administrators, etc.), ask them what they would like to read a story about, find places that most people don’t think about, think about things that make you curious, be creative.
Take a press pass (and a notebook and pen or your phone), and walk around the building. TAKE NOTES. Look for potential stories. They can be about events, people, classes, school history, sports, activities, issues, etc. Get people’s names and grades if you can, and write down where they are this period.
Be on your best behavior in the halls, and try not to disrupt classrooms. Stay in the building.
Come back to the room at 10:30 and enter your ideas into the spreadsheet. Be sure to put your name next to your idea.
Next, we’ll triage the list and decide which ones sound most promising.