survey-cnf-biographical-sketch-tips-april-2016

Survey of Forms: CNF Biographical sketch/Tips How I use quotes? You have the freedom to edit a quote as you see fit, as long as it doesn’t change the meaning of the quote For example, here’s a quote from our interview: Yeah, no, it would definitely be my father It was very strange: he working so much He was kind of doing what I’m doing right now He would teach school all day long, and play all night And so until I actually had him as a teacher at home, I didn’t even really know him that well Which is kind of strange Cause obviously, I’d be in bed by the time he got home, and then he’d go to school, and then I’d go to school Later on, in fifth and sixth grade, when he became my band teacher, I realized what an influence he had become Plus, I was blessed with a giant music collection in our basement – back in the day, they used to have these large black discs they called records (Laughter) You’d play ‘em on a weird turntable, and then this needle would come down Really But he had hundreds of wonderful recordings of classical and jazz music, so I’d get lost down there So not only in the sense of being a fantastic teacher and educator, but what (also) came with that was a wonderful audio collection that I could also avail myself to To me, the most significant part of that quote comes in the first graf: And so until I actually had him as a teacher at home, I didn’t even really know him that well That’s a pretty unusual admission – he even admits that it’s “kind of strange.” I’d also like to use that joke he makes about records Here’s an example of how it all might look in a sketch: Mr DeFade calls his father, a musician, teacher and bandleader, his most significant influence even though his father was so busy early in Mr DeFade’s life that they barely crossed paths “Until I actually had him as a teacher at home,” Mr DeFade says, “I didn’t even really know him that well.” Later, after Mr DeFade’s father became his band director, “I realized what an influence he’d become.” The elder DeFade also influenced his son in another way: by allowing him to listen to the vast music collection in the DeFades’ basement “Back in the day, they used to have these large black discs they called records,” jokes Mr DeFade, who spent hours spinning his father’s classical and jazz LPs You have to paraphrase Especially if it’s a long, unwieldy quote that has useful information Like this: So…after I left here and was in Dallas – at North Texas, they had a giant jazz program They had fifteen hundred jazz majors So there was 250 saxophone players at the college And they have 10 bands, and they all meet at a certain point of the day, and that’s what the band is named after One o’clock, two o’clock, three o’clock…all the way up through 10 p.m And that was how they would name their orchestras And my second audition there, in the spring of my freshman year, I made the two o’clock lab ensemble, which was kind of a big deal And right after that, my phone started ringing off the hook, because the jazz band office at the university was connected to all the work and contractors in Dallas, Texas So all of a sudden, I was working six nights a week, and I quit my job at the ice cream shop I was working at, and just played professionally You know, I had (played professionally) before then, but that how I really broke in, in Dallas, and then I got the national touring from Dallas There’s really not a killer quote here; it’s all background You might summarize it this way: North Texas had a huge jazz program, but Mr DeFade quickly won a coveted spot in the “Two O’Clock” jazz ensemble, named for its daily meeting time That led to offers of professional gigs, and he quit his job at a local ice cream shop to play six nights weekly Or like this, which needs editing because it’s a little disjointed: And sure enough, I went and played my first gig, and ended up getting this contract on the Ginza – if you’ve ever seen pictures of Japan, it’s this road where – it’s so bright at night, it’s (as bright as) daytime All the different companies have their giant neon signs, all the international restaurants are there – it’s a really exciting place to be And I was working there six nights a week We would play every night from midnight till a.m Instead, After his first gig in Japan, Mr DeFade got a contract to play nightclubs on the Ginza, Tokyo’s main commercial road “It’s so bright at night,” Mr DeFade recalls, “it’s (as bright as) daytime.” Pick a tense Past or present are fine, but you need to stay consistent Know the difference between your narration and your descriptions of what happened Look at the passage above “Got” is past tense, because it describes what happened in the past But “recalls” is present tense, because that represents Mr DeFade talking in the present So for the rest of the sketch, I’d use present tense to describe Mr DeFade’s current comments (“says,” “insists,” etc.) You have 750 words Don’t waste time on digressions If your theme is about Mr DeFade’s family connections, but you really love, for some reason, that quote about shopping malls being the death of band programs, or the one about how reverent Japanese audiences are toward musicians, you’re probably going to have to give them up If it’s not related to your theme, dump it You must have moments You should consider starting with one It’d be great if you could end with one They could come from our group interview They could come from our class observation They could come from someplace else But you need them, because they provide imagery and scenes, and let readers see the things they can’t (because they probably weren’t there) Remember the idea of intimate details: little things you notice that might say something to reinforce your theme (or just give us a clearer picture) How someone says a particular thing An expression they get; a habit they have Maybe it’s an item of clothing or jewelry – a ring they twist, or a lanyard they flip Mr DeFade plays an instrument, and plays it very well; did you notice anything in his demeanor that might hint at that occupation? Also: when you interview other people, those are potential moments as well Pay the same attention to your interviewees as you did to Mr DeFade (This is why no text or email interviews: face-to-face is the way to go.)