How To Write An In-Depth Reported Article Without Losing Your Mind

LOL GOOD LUCK

Subscribers, I apologize for the delay in posts.

I am working on an interview with a friend who was born to American parents in Israel, grew up there, and was a conscientious objector, refusing to accept mandatory service in the Israeli army. It should be done in a few days, so I will have two posts this week.

In the meantime, here is a devastating story I read in The Baffler, by a Palestinian named Sarah Aziza, who lives in New York City, called The Doomsday Diaries. Here is a piece from Jewish Currents, called Dispatches From the West Bank.

Please read these if you can.

I did finally write a post. It follows.

How To Write An In-Depth Reported Article Without Losing Your Mind

I just started writing the first in-depth reported article I have written in over a year.

The article is on a complicated subject. I have to constantly get my bearings.

I am fully prepared to drive myself and everyone close to me absolutely nuts while working on this because I have never not done this while writing such an article: I wrote about Drax for the New Yorker a few years ago. I stopped eating regular meals, stopped exercising, stopped being able to discuss anything that was not MY ARTICLE. I wrote a long profile of the watch auctioneer Aurel Bacs for Hodinkee last year. Same thing. I did an article about a district attorney’s race once — that was the most I ever truly lost it. You know what’s funny, I don’t know who the DA is now, and I don’t care.

Why does one lose their shit while writing such pieces? I have four good reasons, and three solutions.

“REASONS”

Reason one: It’s a lot to keep track of all the notes. You can start out with the best of intentions about this, but then a source calls while you’re driving or at a friend’s while their kid is having a meltdown, and you write down what that source said on the back of your checkbook or FedEx envelope or the inside of a Kleenex box. Your desk is covered with this garbage.