Feature Story Brainstorm

1. Who is your main subject? My Grandpa, Jimmy Ash.

2. Supporting interviews (who else do you need to talk to)? My grandma, and probably one or two of my Aunts and Uncles.

3. What is the topic or potential topic? The floods in Wimberly, and how it effected him.

4. Which angle from above will you write the story? Human interest

5. Then to help you get going faster, come up with 20 questions that you can ask your main subject. Type these in your blog.

What drew you to Wimberly and when?
What did you hear about flooding when you first moved to Wimberly?
What were you doing when the house first began flooding?
If you had time, what did you grab from your home?
What was going through your head when the flooding first began?
How much time did you have to get out?
How high would you say the water was?
Did you know any of the people who went missing after the floods?
How long were you displaced from your home?
Was this the first time flooding this severe has occurred?
What did your house look like after the flood?
What help did you get to clean up afterwards?
How did the community react to the flood?
Did you ever think something like this would happen again?
When it flooded the second time how did you react?
Was the flooding more or less severe the second time around?
How do you think the community will come back after the recent natural disasters?
Would you ever consider moving? Why or why not?
What is your plan if it were ever to flood again?
How was your business affected by the flooding?
How was the town affected by the flooding?
How long has it been since you've seen flooding similar to the two recent floods?




6. Once you complete that portion, you need to come up with 5-10 questions you need to ask your supporting interviews. Type these into your blog. You may need different questions for each supporting subject.
How did you help out after the flooding happened?
If you were in the same situation, how would you react?
What do you think the community is going to do about the reoccurring floods?
Can you describe what the flooding looked like?
If this happens again, will you encourage Jimmy to move out? Why or why not?
How do you think that people have been reacting to flooding?
Have you been in a similar situation to this? If so explain it.
How would you describe Jimmy?


7. You will need to do a little research on the topic you expect to interview your main subject about. Take a little time and do some google searching - find at least 5 new things about the intended topic you should know before you interview your main subject. List those on your blog.
-Three vehicles were washed away in the second round of flooding.
-Many people had to be rescued the second time it flooded.
-About twelve people died in the first flood.
-A wall of water 40ft high washed down the Blanco River 
-The first flood was the highest flood water since 1929

8. Write when you plan to conduct the interview(s)?
On Thanksgiving at my Grandparents house

9. Where you will interview them (some interviews are better to do in the persons environment, while others should be done in public places, ALL interviews should be done in person)? I will interview the people at my grandparents house.

10. How will you record the information? (taking notes is ideal, and if you want to record the conversation you MUST get permission. You can do both if they will allow you to record, this is a really strong technique that you could use.)
I will do both.