Correspondent position with the Press Democrat comes to a close: looking back (and forward)

Yesterday was my final day as a freelance corespondent for the Press Democrat -- the largest newspaper in Sonoma County. I'm happy to state that I didn't renew my contract due to too much work on my plate; I needed to pare it down for the new year. I won't miss the lengthy hours searching for subjects, transcribing interviews and painstakingly cutting and shaping. I will miss my byline:

By NICOLE R. ZIMMERMAN / Cotati and Rohnert Park Correspondent

Starting in June as a backup correspondent writing occasional features, I was offered a position as Cotati/Penngrove correspondent in September. After several weeks pleasing my editor, I accepted the Rohnert Park position as well. For three months I posted short articles several times per week on both Wordpress sites in addition to compiling a weekly calendar plus the centerpiece (800-word human interest feature for the Sunday Towns print section).

The best part of my job was getting away from my desk and into my community to meet all of the wonderful people making this place what it is. I liked looking for the story in an interview, compiling news posts, making contact. Under the mentorship of my editor, Linda Castrone (who early on wrote, "Your reporting and writing skills are spot on!"), I'm sure my skills have improved even more. There's just nothing like practice, and writing to deadline! Here's my photo from the webpage:

WRITER SPOTLIGHT

Nicole Zimmerman is our Rohnert Park, Cotati and Penngrove correspondent.

Following are some of the "centerpiece" features, followed by "briefs," that went to print in the Sunday Towns section and/or online at the Press Democrat. (Forgive the weird formatting):

Host families share more than holiday traditions
Thursday, December 20th, 2012 

Each holiday season, Jeanine and Leo Antone of Rohnert Park share a typical Christmas dinner with their family... But the meal, along with most holiday traditions, is nothing typical for their principal guest. Megumi Tateyama is a Japanese student the Antones have hosted in their home since mid-October.

Read more...

You can see more articles by clicking on the "Girl Reporter" tab at the top of the blog. Thanks!

Too busy to blog, but enough time to brag a bit

Reading fairy tales, age 7 (photo taken by mom)

My post-MFA career is taking off at full speed, just as the weather turns toward fall and I turn another year older. I long to spend my days curled up on the couch with a good book (I've got a leaning tower by my bedside, always threatening to topple), but I feel blessed to find an abundance of work in my field--reporting, copywriting, teaching and soon tutoring.

For six weeks I've been a Towns correspondent for Sonoma County's largest newspaper, the Press Democrat. Each week I post to an events calendar and several short posts to two WordPress sites, as well as write a centerpiece featured in print in the Sunday Towns section. Here's my latest profile on Homecoming at Rancho Cotate High. One of the students asked, "Is your job fun--just going up and talking to random people?" Like, totally. (Especially ironic as this week is my 25th high school reunion!)

I've just begun reading my 60-page style guide (is that one word or two?) for my new copywriting position with Viator, a worldwide travel company based in San Francisco. I'm on a freelance contract, working from home, so I set my own schedule writing online tours and activities for Central/South America, Scandinavia and the African continent. Great job for my skills set!

I absolutely love my little 4th grade munchkins at two local schools where I teach creative writing through the Bay Area organization "Take My Word For It!" One of our writing ground rules is never to preface your work with an apology ("This isn't really any good, but..."), which I'm realizing isn't so necessary for little ones who haven't yet internalized the critical voice. They write thoughtfully and furiously, always with eager hands to read their writing aloud and proud. I'm not sure when I'll find the time, but soon I should be tutoring in town with Grade A.

And today I received the great news that my 150-page creative thesis passed with flying colors ("a refreshingly candid collection of essays... crisp, clear-headed, and measured prose... every page a pleasure to read")! I know it's a long shot, but I've already entered the opening essay to the Wabash Prize for non-fiction contest, judged by poet and Liar's Club memoirist, Mary Karr.

Litquake--San Francisco's literary festival

Litquake is happening Oct. 5-13! It's the 13th annual week-long literary festival in San Francisco, including 163 events and more than 850 authors. 

Here’s the entire schedule at a glance. Check out select highlights or the full roster of 2012 Festival authors with links to their bios. Here’s a list of Litquake special programs, including the new Words and Pictures museum series, A Cultural Stroll through Yerba Buena--an art-centric series on Sunday, Oct. 7. You can wander through an array of museums and galleries, exploring art, language, culture, and all intersections between.

If you can't make it this week, there's always the Lit Crawl finale next Saturday, Oct. 13. Included is a reading by students of Take My Word For It!--a Bay Area creative writing program that I helped bring to the north bay. I've been teaching two after-school, 8-9 week classes with TMWFI for fourth graders at local schools. The LitQuake writers will read their food writing at 6 pm at 18 Reasons in the Mission. TMWFI is also part of this year's Rockridge Out & About Festival in Oakland tomorrow from 1 - 6 pm. They'll have a "Type-In" booth where you can type on carbon paper.

I'm too busy picking blackberries in the backyard (in October!), but I hope to catch Litquake on Tuesday after I train in the city for my new copywriting job at Viator. I'll excited to have a part-time contract writing online tours and activities for travelers worldwide. In addition, I'm the Press Democrat's new Towns correspondent for Cotati/Penngrove and  Rohnert Park, covering human interest stories in two local, adjacent towns. I publish several short posts online each week as well as a longer centerpiece that appears in print each Sunday.