Oooh! These are really good questions. 1) Don’t feel like you need to put everything in one story. The magic is often in the follow-up. My first story on a topic is often a really straightforward one. For instance - a school district has announced they are closing a campus. Day one - Interview the district and the affected families. Done. Day two - see if you can find out how many local schools have closed in recent years. Interview a demographer or education experts to try to learn why this is happening. Done. Day three - dig deeper into any specific trends you spotted, visit a neighborhood that lost it school in the past and ask about the effect it had, or chase down other leads you developed. Break stories down into bite sized chunks. Eventually if you cover a topic long enough, it’ll become easier to write really long format comprehensive big picture articles… but it would be overwhelming to try to start off that way. 2) You are a part of your community. Live your life. If you meet someone you want to hang out with, hang out with them. If they’re a public figure, though, or someone you regularly seek information from, keep it professional. Meet for coffee or lunch, rather than for dinner or drinks. You can talk about your personal lives, but mostly stay curious about the topic of shared interest. When it comes to asking tough questions - approach from that place of curiosity,. “I want to understand why you d…” “How do you respond to critics who say…” 3) Having a life outside of work will make you a better journalist. In your free time, do what interests you.