The photo here comes from Susan Orlean. She just posted it on Twitter along with a caption that reads “The floor of my office: Notes and Notes and…”
I happen to be reading The New New Journalism. In the book, Robert S. Boynton interviews Michael Lewis, Lawrence Wright, William Langewiesche, and others I admire. Like Susan Orlean. So to look at her Twitter picture is to feel as if page 288 of The New New Journalism is suddenly illustrated. Boynton asked Orlean what she does “in order to prepare to write.” Her answer:
The first thing I do is type up my notes into a computer. I organize each interview as a separate file. Then I’ll make another file of general observations I’ve made during reporting. Then I’ll print those all up, read them, and highlight the useful passages. Then I spread all the pages out around me and start working on the lead.
