It happened twice…
…and it was a surprise both times!
I am a journalist but I don’t cover the “hard news” – the front page stuff. But twice I have had one of my articles make the front page!
The first time was when I was in college and I wrote an article about the person who would be appearing as a part of the Distinguished Lecture Series. Dr. Carl Sagan was going to give a talk and show some shots from Mars. I was also supposed to attend the press conference – my first. I went to pick up a copy of the university paper from the local convenience store…and let out a scream. My article on Dr. Sagan made the front page. I grabbed a handful of the papers with an astonishing look on my face. At the press conference I gave one of them to Dr. Sagan and he even autographed the press photo I had!
The second time around, I had a bit of a warning, the editor of the entertainment paper I was writing for called me to ask how soon I could get the article written because he wanted to put it on the front page!
I prefer writing under a deadline, because I am usually not fully satisfied with what I have written and with a deadline I know when I have to stop and turn in what I have written.
There have been a few times when I have re-written an article so many times that I ended up where I started. Since then, I write one, check it, and let it go; or I may never get anything published.