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Dear John,

I am wondering how you bridge the gap between the general public that seems much less specific and knowledgable about areas of hunting and shooting. Your article on the 338 Winchester Magnum was excellent and I couldn't help but notice that another writer in the same issue just straight up failed to convey any useful information about the 243.
Yesterday, I had a high school student and his girlfriend who lives 1/4 mile down the road show up at about 9AM knocking on our door. He had gotten his 88' rear wheel drive Chevy Impala stuck in the ditch and without anybody home they went house to house until they got to ours. He was in a puffy coat but had sneakers and shorts. It was about -10F and he was not in great shape. I went ahead, loaned him a pair of coveralls and helped helped them out but I remember when the standard answer was that if you get stuck that you have the technology and knowledge base to get yourself out of the ditch.
It got me thinking which is probably a dangerous thing. I was looking at that same Rifle magazine that includes the articles on 338 and 243 but also included Rifle issue no.1 as a bonus. I was reading the letters and they were deep questions and were answered with very clear and specific answers. I think the scariest thing that happens with the present is that too many people accept what they read on the forums as gospel and few read or learn the necessary material to really develop an understanding. It is topical channel surfing.
There is a huge emphasis these days on shooting rather than hunting and also an emphasis on fair weather guns that give up on functionality to come in at a low cost point and hit targets at a long distance. Better bullets and better more consistent factory ammo has made it very easy to have a topical knowledge on things. Your rifle doesn't group then send it down the road.

So I have noticed that you are one of the few writers that grasps Feynman's method of knowledge and learning that you simplify your basic message down so that an 8 year old can understand it and yet have elements that get to the real limit of knowledge and study in the area. There are a lot of writers out there but I don't think that there are very many who can do that. Basically what I am asking is your steps to the writing process. I think it would be beneficial to many of the people on here to know how you do that so maybe they can get a few pointers and learn to write better. Not grammarly or use of spellcheckers but actually developing content that is useful to the beginner and to the looney.

Have a great new year in 2019.
Thomas

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Thomas,

Thank you very much for your generous comments.

I decided to become a professional writer at about age 12, about the same time my father gave me my first rifle (I'd already been a dedicated angler and BB-gun shooter for several years). My father and mother were both professors who kept thousands of books in the house, including a good encyclopedia, and from the time I could read encouraged me to use them for research. Right outside was outdoor Montana, which in those days had around 700,000 people in an area slightly smaller than California.

I sold my first magazine story at 21 to Sports Illustrated, about a day of flyfishing for trout in winter, which paid me more than I made in a month at my regular job. Back then there was still a considerable market for stories, rather than articles, even in hunting/fishing magazines. I was able to make a living writing by my late 20's, writing a LOT of different stuff, from hunting and fishing stories to fiction and Western history, including an article for National Geographic on the Missouri Breaks. All this provided a well-rounded writing background, and in college I majored in biology, providing some science background.

I started gun writing in my mid-30's, another subject I was interested in, and various magazine editors wanted more. Eventually gun writing became the biggest part of my income, but still write some other stuff, though I gave up fishing writing 20 years ago.

The other thing my parents provided was a certain skepticism about "common knowledge," the stuff many people believe is true because they heard it from somebody else. Shooters have plenty of these misconceptions, and I've published a lot of articles based on investigating some of those beliefs. Luckily, many people in the shooting business are willing to share their expertise on everything from ballistics to making reloading components. Also, Elmer Keith once expressed his belief in doing sufficient shooting to be sure of what he published. I've found that a good rule, on subjects from handloading techniques to how hunting bullets work. I also have a library on hunting and shooting that's probably the size of my parent's collection, providing background info going back to the 19th century.

I combine all those elements when writing articles. Usually the biggest problem is distilling any subject into 2000-2500 words, but have found it really helps to take the reader along while doing my investigating, instead of merely listing the results One of oldest of effective writing techniques, both in fiction and non-fiction, is showing instead of telling.


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M.D. I've read some of your fishing stuff and really enjoyed them, so I'm sorry you have given up on that topic. I was looking forward to "going" fishing with you again.

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OP, thanks for asking John about his writing.

John, this brings up an idea. Do you own the rights to republish some of your older works, e.g. fishing, the Nat Geo article, Western History? A compendium of some of your previous work might prove interesting to some of us who know your gun related writing well, but not so much the other disciplines. Perhaps even something more comprehensive than a compendium .

Geno


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In it is contentment
In it is death and all you seek
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Thanks Mr. Barsness. I just hope that many of the younger writers even ones on this site like Keith Woods, get an opportunity to work with you in writing seminars. I know that money is a big concern in an age where magazines are struggling but I know that if I find an article that is written by you that I will buy the magazine. I will let it pass if you are not in the magazine. There are some very good magazines getting started like Western Hunting and they have very passionate hunters writing articles but that they could use your help on teaching them how to tell a story with words.

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Originally Posted by Mule Deer
Thomas,

Thank you very much for your generous comments.

I decided to become a professional writer at about age 12, about the same time my father gave me my first rifle (I'd already been a dedicated angler and BB-gun shooter for several years). My father and mother were both professors who kept thousands of books in the house, including a good encyclopedia, and from the time I could read encouraged me to use them for research. Right outside was outdoor Montana, which in those days had around 700,000 people in an area slightly smaller than California.

I sold my first magazine story at 21 to Sports Illustrated, about a day of flyfishing for trout in winter, which paid me more than I made in a month at my regular job. Back then there was still a considerable market for stories, rather than articles, even in hunting/fishing magazines. I was able to make a living writing by my late 20's, writing a LOT of different stuff, from hunting and fishing stories to fiction and Western history, including an article for National Geographic on the Missouri Breaks. All this provided a well-rounded writing background, and in college I majored in biology, providing some science background.


I started gun writing in my mid-30's, another subject I was interested in, and various magazine editors wanted more. Eventually gun writing became the biggest part of my income, but still write some other stuff, though I gave up fishing writing 20 years ago.

The other thing my parents provided was a certain skepticism about "common knowledge," the stuff many people believe is true because they heard it from somebody else. Shooters have plenty of these misconceptions, and I've published a lot of articles based on investigating some of those beliefs. Luckily, many people in the shooting business are willing to share their expertise on everything from ballistics to making reloading components. Also, Elmer Keith once expressed his belief in doing sufficient shooting to be sure of what he published. I've found that a good rule, on subjects from handloading techniques to how hunting bullets work. I also have a library on hunting and shooting that's probably the size of my parent's collection, providing background info going back to the 19th century.

I combine all those elements when writing articles. Usually the biggest problem is distilling any subject into 2000-2500 words, but have found it really helps to take the reader along while doing my investigating, instead of merely listing the results One of oldest of effective writing techniques, both in fiction and non-fiction, is showing instead of telling.



That is a very good story John.

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This does it for me...


https://www.fieldandstream.com/articles/hunting/2010/09/hunter’s-story

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JB, I followed many of your hunting and fishing stories in your early career... I believe you wrote one about meeting your wife and her adjustment to Montana's life style.. Great stuff.. Also enjoyed your stories of reservation life.. Must have been something..

Your article on the .338 WM, explained why WW went with the .338 dia. rather than Keith's .333.. Often wondered why the little change, but never thought of the old Win. 33 rifling equipment.. Nice job..


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Originally Posted by super T
M.D. I've read some of your fishing stuff and really enjoyed them, so I'm sorry you have given up on that topic. I was looking forward to "going" fishing with you again.



He had to give it up when he realised fisherman, unlike hunters tell big Whoppers. laugh


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I read someone saying (and it may have been Mule Deer that wrote this) that one of things that always stood out about Finn Aagaard is that when someone would tell him something he would often ask "And how do you know this to be so?".

I've always appreciated the fact that when MD makes a statement in his articles he tells us why it is that way and how he reached that conclusion. I think it makes not only for better reading but also teaches the reader how to think for themselves and apply the conclusions to other similar questions.

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Thanks to everybody for the additional comments. Here are some from me:

I quit writing about fishing mostly because articles about hunting and guns paid better. I suspect this is because almost everybody in North America lives where they can fish pretty easily, and fishing doesn't involve the frequent difficulties like finding a place to hunt or shoot. As a result, it's far easier to write about fishing than shooting and hunting, so fishing magazines get flooded by contributions--which drives the price per article down. Not many people live where they can hunt and shoot a lot, and I got lucky by being born and raised in Montana, but even then when I grew up and bought a house, made a conscious decision to live right where I could hunt and shoot within five minutes (which is now impossible in Bozeman, the town where I grew up).

Eventually the average price for fishing articles was so much less it was a no-brainer to quit writing them. When I told Eileen about my decision, we both thought it would be really nice to fish for fun, without the hassle of taking photos and the other stuff involved in articles. Instead we could just go fishing to relax, like "normal" people. But instead, I got so busy writing hunting and firearms articles that more of fishing season was used for hunting and shooting, so there was less time for fishing. Right now I'm in the process of "semi-retiring," attempting to cut back my work schedule by, hopefully, about half. (Writers, like gunsmiths, rarely really retire. They just write less.) One of the things we'd like to do with the time is fish more, though now Eileen often has problems getting enough "spare" time, because she keeps writing cookbooks, and she had the great idea of starting our website and publishing company. As they continue to grow, SHE spends more time working!

Geno, yes, I do retain the copyright to everything I write, though a few magazines buy some rights for the first year. I have thought about doing a more general-interest book, but the problem is, once again, making money. My rifle books sell better than anything else I do, even books on big game hunting, probably because most hunters only spend a limited amount of time in the field, but dink with their rifles year-round. We have to regularly order new printings the rifle books--even my first, OBSESSIONS OF A RIFLE LOONY, which I wrote a decade ago. GUN GACK 1 (which appeared in 2015) is now in its 5th or 6th printing, but we reprint the hunting books far less often, even though people who buy them like them. There just isn't as much market for hunting stuff, which is why so many hunting magazines run so many gun articles these days--including "hunting stories" that are actually thinly-disguised gun articles, where somebody "field tests" a new rifle or shotgun.

Kellywk, Believe I have quoted Finn a few times on that, but know Phil Shoemaker has as well! We both knew Finn, and appreciated his thoroughness and honesty.


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Originally Posted by kaboku68
There are some very good magazines getting started like Western Hunting and they have very passionate hunters writing articles but that they could use your help on teaching them how to tell a story with words.


I think there are some decent story tellers out there, but not many that know firearms, scopes, and loads like John. His knowledge of these subjects, and hunting, are broad, with writings that challenge old beliefs. I don't think there is another writer today that is on the same level, not even close. I'm not well versed on all the gunwriters that have passed, but I suspect that none meet this bar either.

Unfortunately, I haven't seen anything today that would continue this quality of work when John "retires". I'd be great if there was someone that John and Eileen could take under their wings, and continue what they have created. It'd be a continuation of their work on firearms, hunting, cooking, and game preparation.

Jason

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PS - I think there are some here that would enjoy co-writing an article or two with John and Eileen. I can think of a few that would be interesting. What do you say, John? Or would that be too much of a hassle eek

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Actually, Eileen and I have been co-teaching a class in professional writing for the local adult education program once a month for around a decade now. By "professional" writing, we mean the students intend to publish their work, so we talk about that process as well as the writing itself. Several have published stuff, some by self-publishing, which we discuss a lot because that'es what we do with our books. Others have had stuff published by regular outlets, whether book or magazine publishers. We also discuss book promotion, an essential part of the process, perhaps more so than the writing itself. (For this we get less money in a year than I make from one of my articles, but it always helps us, by stirring up ideas.)

I've also helped several aspiring magazine writers get going, both when I edited magazines (have been the editor of three, the last Gray's Sporting Journal in the mid-1990's) and simply because I knew they were serious--which means they actually wrote articles, instead of just thinking about it. Am always willing to read those articles, and make suggestions, including where they might submit them. Several have published them, and one even went on to become a full-time writer.

"Co-writing" an article would be pretty difficult, but am always willing to help aspiring writers if they're serious about it.


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I know I am one of the PIA posters, on the "fire". I have always looked forward to JB's articles and writings as well as his many answers to posts I have made. I take them with at least a few grains of salt.

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That was an intended pun, the replies have no need to improve the taste.. Or creditability.

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I understood that!


“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.”
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Thanks for the info John, especially the self-publishing, book promotion, and teaching. I had no idea, but appreciate the dedication and wish you and Eileen the best for 2019.

Jason

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John,
I read articles to learn, thats entertainment for me.
Learning about darn near anything, even stuff that really doesn't interest me. (I can actually be interested in a golf article. How the hell that happens...?)

Pushing 50, and having read every gun thing I can get my fingers on,
I have learned a lot.

You are one of few who can entertain me.
Most, are boring. I could write their articles.
Hell, my 11 year old daughter could write them from Wikki and Google.
Not to mention the press releases many are copies of.

I know it's difficult, there isn't much new in the world,
And you are trying to reach newbies and old hands.


Parents who say they have good kids..Usually don't!
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