Two Unbreakable Rules for Environmental Stories
And how to deal with people who ridicule the questioner.
The writer Alan Weisman many years ago offered up advice to me on how we should report environmental stories.
That’s what I’m mostly interested in—writing stories that turn on people’s love for the planet. Which is ultimately our love for ourselves and each other.
One day I read a story by Alan in The Los Angeles Times, and I sent him a letter.
This was back in the day when people still found each other by sticking a letter in a mailbox with a hope and a prayer.
Weisman’s Advice
In a sweet correspondence that ensued, Alan gave me two unbreakable rules about writing.
“Tell the story—any story—through living, breathing people.” If you are reporting an environmental story, find the folks who are affected. Tell their story. People want to know about other people. A reader will plow to the bitter end of a piece to find out what happens to another human. This is especially important for stories that involve a lot of technical details. Bury all those details in the bigger story of a real person. (And doesn’t this say something wonderful about the human race?)
"Don’t quit asking and researching until you know what the story really is and what it means to us.” That means don’t pretend to understand a problem. Don’t gloss. Do the research until you truly understand. This is why I don’t, in general, write about policy or politics or pollution. I can listen all day to someone describing the natural history of earthworms, but I have little affection for parts per million of heavy metals, and I don’t understand methylation or titration or many other things I would need in order to report mercury poisoning. I would be the reporter always dialing back, “Tell me again, please. What is superoxide dismutase?” If you have a scientific mind and can bridge to a dunderhead like myself, then I hope you get in there and report. We need the translators.
I often come back to Alan’s two rules. I didn't understand them when they were given to me but I am starting to.
On Looking Inept
Rule #2 is important because folks sometimes use ignorance against a person. Some folks think of ignorance as a weakness. They find it and make fun of it. Including publicly.
Sad to say, this often happens to women. Making women look stupid in public is an old trick of the patriarchy.
Some of us had teachers who did this. A memory of public shaming makes us hesitant to ask the questions that need to be asked. We don’t want to look like fools.
And sometimes folks use information like a weapon. Smarter than you means I win.
It’s Just One Subject
The world is full of subjects, every one of them deep and wide. Somebody else may be an expert on mycelial remediation, but maybe you’re the expert on ruby-crowned kinglets.
Keep Going
Ask the questions you need to ask, sister. Insist on understanding. Yes, this may take some courage. But if you are a person trying to understand a problem in order to write about it, keep lobbing hardballs. Look like a dunce, if need be.
Understanding what you are writing about as deeply and completely as possible means that one day you will be the smartest person in the room.
Don’t Forget
The world needs you.
What Tips Do You Have for Us?
When you are at a
public meeting
hearing
interview
working group
how do you handle the problem of someone making fun of a question being asked?
Books by Alan Weisman
We, Immortals (1979)
La Frontera: The United States Border With Mexico (1986)
An Echo In My Blood (1999)
Gaviotas: A Village to Reinvent the World (1998)
The World Without Us (2007)
Countdown: Our Last, Best Hope for a Future on Earth (2013)
Wow, thank you for introducing us to Alan Weisman. I love his two tips. Those are evergreen. I was taught in both my careers to ask questions until I fully understand, and never worry about appearing "dumb." In fact, "dumb" in these contexts is an asset. My editor(s) in journalism made me go back and ask the subject of my story MORE questions if necessary. I didn't like it, but I knew they were right. And then when I became a therapist, my supervisor/mentor gave me a great piece of advice about how to work with counseling clients. She said, "Be Columbo." Peter Falk would always act like he was dumb and keep asking questions until he got the criminal to confess. If I keep asking questions (some of which might seem obvious), my client's story slowly emerges.
I love asking questions. I think there's an art to asking a good question-- one that will open the subject up, or bring complexity to a conversation. I know everyone is playing the I'm smarter than you game, but I guess I'm over that. Smart people ask questions & politically It can be an effective way to encourage dialogue and critical thinking.