Think of long-form stories like documentary films. Credit: Vancouver Film School/Flickr

The Scenic View

Long-form is a little like documentary-making, and films are built around scenes that draw the viewer through. So what scenes are going to be important in your tale? What pictures can you draw for a reader that illustrate a larger theme in the story? New scenes will obviously develop as you report and write—don’t restrict yourself to a few set-pieces that you know will happen in advance — but keeping the big picture in mind is useful.

You can’t beat feet on the street. Credit: Eschipul/Flickr

Shoe Leather

Get as much time with your subjects as possible. Win their confidence. If you can, don’t just spend hours with them, spend days or even weeks. And when you’re reporting, try to document as much as you possibly can.

Not just what your subjects look like or sound like, but how they react in conversation, their moods, their habits, the way they rustle their hair when they’re tired, the shoes they wear, how they tie their laces.

You’ll have to edit a little as you go (hey, you’re not a video camera) but these little details can often be revealing, or provide you with a spark when you think you’ve lost the plot. And in any case, it’s better to get way more material than you can publish than not have enough.