Virtual Expert: Gail Keck

Columnist

Prairie Farmer magazine

Gail is a hog and grain farmer in central Ohio who also writes free-lance columns and articles for various ag and horticultural publications. Before she started freelancing in 1996, she was a writer and editor, first for the Ohio Farm Bureau, then for the Ohio Farmer magazine, for 11 years. She is an Ohio State University graduate with a B.S. in Ag Communications/Ag Economics.

In 2002, she received a Master Writer award from the AAEA. Her articles placed first in the AAEA writing contest Humor category in 2000 and 2003.

Says Gail: "Working as a freelancer has allowed me the schedule flexibility to spend time with my three children and take a more active role in our family's farming operation as it has expanded. Freelancing also lets me maintain my ag industry contacts and supplement our farm income."

Gail's phone: 937-246-7305

E-mail: gkeck@mindspring.com

Gail won first place in the AAEA 2003 Writing Awards Program in the Humor category with her story, "Reality Check."

Q&A with Gail Keck

The planning stage: Please give some background on why you chose the story topic that won your award. What gave you the idea for that topic? Why now? What were your goals when you began to plan the story?

Gail: I've found that ideas for humor stories are hard to find when you are looking for them. You just have to learn to recognize them when you come upon them. In this case, I was watching a reality show with my kids and it occurred to me that the contrived stunts weren't nearly as challenging as some of the work farmers do. That doesn't seem particularly hilarious, but there is a nugget of irony there to work with.

Sometimes the only point of a humor story is to give readers a laugh. Other times you can make a serious point using humor to make it more palatable to readers. This particular story doesn't have any serious point. I was just encouraging readers to laugh at the frustrating realities of farming.

The fact gathering stage: How did you choose the people to interview for your story? What were your primary sources of information? Did you use the Web? How and where did you conduct interviews? Did you do the interviews face-to-face, phone, or email, and which is best? How did you get good information and good quotes from your sources? How did you determine who to interview, and when did you know you'd done enough interviews?

Gail: Unlike a typical news or feature article, this story did not require any interviews or information gathering. I drew on my own farming experiences and stories I had heard from other farmers in the past. This story would have been harder to write without that personal experience, but not impossible. For instance, I could have asked farmers to tell me about the most difficult or disgusting things they had to do as farmers.

The writing stage: Why or how did you choose the story lead? Did you outline the story or organize the general flow ahead of time, before you began to write? What writing style did you choose, and why? How many re-writes did you do? How did you choose sidebar stories? Did you have an editor or a colleague review your story, offer suggestions, look for "holes" in your reporting? How do you check facts?

Gail: For me, writing a humor story is a much different process than writing a news or feature story. For those stories I generally outline the points I want to cover and organize them. (I used to do this on paper, but now I usually do it in my head.) Then I can sit down and put the first draft together at one sitting.

For humor stories, though, I can't come up with all the jokes or punch lines at once. I usually spend several days or even weeks with an idea in the back of my mind. As I come up with little bits for the story, I either write them down or collect them in my head. (I'm sure writing things down is better to avoid forgetting good ideas, but I don't always do it.)

For this story, I used a conversational writing style, which seemed to fit this subject. A more formal style can work for a humor story, but you have to make sure readers understand that you're not serious. On the other hand, if your style gets too casual, the humor can seem forced ­ it's like laughing at your own joke when nobody else is laughing.

The editor reviewed this story, but I don't think he made any changes. Having colleagues to review your work is helpful, but you might not always have that luxury. Being able to step back and take a critical look at your own work is a valuable skill.

How did you begin your career? What advice do you have for those graduating? What does it mean to be a member of AAEA? How do you maintain a high standard of ethics in your writing and your career?

Gail: I started my career while I was in college by editing a college alumni newsletter and working summers for a small farm tabloid. That experience helped me get a job after graduation in the communications department of a statewide farm organization. A few years later, I got a job writing for a state farm magazine. Now I farm part-time, write part-time and raise kids full-time.

Participating in industry organizations like AAEA helps me maintain contact with clients and keep up with changes in the industry. I also like AAEA's writing critique and contest. As a freelancer, I rarely get much detailed feedback on my work from editors. If they send me a check, I figure they must have liked it (or just had a big space to fill in their magazine).

My best advice for an ag communications graduate is to use your early career to figure out your strengths, then pursue opportunities that let you focus on them. Also realize that you won't get to start over with new classes next quarter if you mess up. Keep in mind that people might be making life-changing decisions based on information you give them. If you are sloppy about your facts or unbalanced in your reporting, your readers will be misled and eventually your credibility will suffer.