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from Inlander
By Eliza Billingham
I always think of writing an article as putting a puzzle together, except I have too many pieces. It’s my job to gather more information than I need — that way, I can choose the best bits and piece them together in a cohesive way. It’s exciting, and serious, and sometimes, extremely frustrating. I realize now that it’s mostly absurd to write about an entire life in 4,000 words, the typical length of an Inlander cover story. But when I first pitched a story about Eleanor Barrow Chase, I didn’t know how much information I’d find. When my editor liked the idea, I asked if he'd be willing to drop the word count to 3,000, or even 2,500, if need be. Oh, sweet naivete. By the time deadline came around, I had so much information that I was trying to cajole him into letting me write 10,000 words. He said no. So I actually did my job and chose what I hope were some of the best 4,000 words for the limited space we have each week. Still, left over in my phone, a Google Drive folder, a notebook and some random scraps of paper are plenty of facts that are interesting and important but didn’t make the final cut. As I’m clearing my desk to make room for the next puzzle, here are a dozen extra tidbits for anyone interested in learning more about the life of Eleanor Barrow Chase. You can judge if I chose the right words or not.
By Eliza Billingham
I just finished a story on the life of Eleanor Barrow Chase. Most of the research I did was in Eleanor’s collection at the Joel E. Ferris Archives at Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, but I also found some great information in the Inland Northwest Special Collections at the downtown Spokane Public Library. Both archives are available to the public, with archivists who are passionate about preserving and sharing knowledge. But if you’re not a trained researcher, you may not be familiar with how or where to start your own project. Here are some tips on how to do your own archival deep dive to uncover stories on your own. It doesn’t take superpowers, but it’s always helpful to know what to expect.
from The Spokesman-Review
Newspaper in Spokane, Washington
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