Pen, Paper, and Passion

I've been writing for about six years now. No, I don't mean actually writing my letters and numbers like when I was seven years old. I'm talking about really writing. Writing for fun, writing for pleasure, writing for a purpose.

Writing with a passion.

And now, I do it just about everyday. I write for The Sojourn, I write papers for classes (oh, so many classes), I write letters and notes to friends, and I write on this blog. So I'd like to think that I'm getting some good experience in.

Two things, above all, have shaped how I write. The first happened at the very beginning of my time as a writer. The very first article I read, entitled "How Good Can Randy Moss Be?" in the September 2nd, 2002 issue of Sports Illustrated (a copy that I hold in my hands right now) is the biggest factor. In that article, written by Michael Silver, the lead was a very interesting and personal anecdote about the start of the interview with Randy Moss. Ever since then, and especially now, I really enjoy starting my stories with stories; looking at the article through the eyes of the main character.

The second is my mentor, Gregg Doyel, a writer for CBSSports.com. Gregg has probably shaped my development overall as a person, writer, and journalist more than almost anyone, but as for technical things about each of my articles, one factor stands out. He likes to start his stories with a full paragraph lead, and then his second paragraph is just one sentence that cuts to the heart of the story or makes you think, and gives your eyes a break.

Kind of like this.

So those two things are what makes me tick as a writer. Those are the things I go to most when I'm trying to write an epic story. Because I love doing them. It's my personal style as a writer that makes me who I am. Obviously, there's more to Jeremy Sharp the journalist, but those are the things I like the most. And I'm looking forward to growing as a writer and a journalist, and picking up new techniques while improving the ones I use now.