On its face, this was a pretty straightforward assignment I received from Goucher College: Write a short profile of an alum. He founded a strategy risk and insurance advisory firm. He's married to another Goucher alumna. Go to.
In reality, working on the story was a good reminder of some of the lessons I've picked up in my years as a writer and journalist:
- Don't be afraid to ask the dumb questions: I have no earthly idea what "strategy risk and insurance advisory firm" means.
- Don't be stymied by the assignment. Find a way to make the story interesting to a wide readership. He works in risk management. Okay. I could ask him some very dry, technical questions ... or I could ask what sort of role risk has played in his personal life. Hey, it's not a trade magazine.
- Find the romance. Who's not a sucker for a love story? The fact that the story set up my primary subject's partner to be an equal participant was fortuitous. And with a line like "we disliked each other immediately," I knew there was a good story there.
- Find the humanity. I don't care for stories that are just about someone's job. I want to know about the person behind the job. I had a colleague who used to ask subjects "what's your origin story?" I shamelessly stole that move, and I use it in as many interviews as I can. I don't want to just know what you do, I want to know what drives you to do it.
I'm fairly pleased with how the story turned out. But read it for yourself.