Writing Surrogate Experiences

[Come up with three possible article ideas]

-Nutritionally balanced sandwiches for different scenarios.
i.e. The PB & J with more/less protein, turkey sandwiches that pump up the iron, getting more vitamin C with your pastrami on rye.
-Different workout regimens that all target the same muscle group.
-An article that discusses how to help friends and family members who have eating disorders.

Three experiences that could be associated with one of the possible article ideas:

-Sneaking in a quick, nutritionally balanced meal before delivering a successful presentation at work
-Finally being able to bench your goal weight, while someone is watching
-Saving your friend from succumbing to an eating disorder

Using either first person ("I" = writer), second person ("you" = reader), or third person ("he"/"she" = interview subject), recreate this experience in one paragraph

....these ideas are all terrible.

Magazine analysis

[Using a magazine, a website, and writersmarket.com identify the community and self-identity of the magazine's readership and identify a surrogate experience for the magazine.]

Women's Health:
Community: 20- to 50-year-old women, mostly heterosexuals, who enjoy nutrition, health, exercise, and cooking.

Self-identity: These women are independent self-motivators who are interested in exercise and nutrition for the sake of their health.

Surrogate experience: making a great dinner for a significant other, losing weight due to an effective training regimen, getting a sculpted body.

Project #1 Debrief

Evaluate your final draft. What are the strengths and weaknesses of it? What was difficult? What will you do differently next time?

My final draft was okay. I was pleased with the information given, but I felt the hook was still weak. It didn't really have an angle that was appropriate for Capital Gains; it was more of just a piece about Lansing City Market (LCM). I also had problems organizing the piece. I didn't know how to structure the paragraphs in a logical order, and I couldn't decide which order was most logical or progressive. I should have decided on a more specific angle before going to interview people at LCM, instead of developing a hook based on the information I discovered.