Wednesday, March 16, 2016
Post #9: Questions for Chris Ballard (due March 20)
Seeing as Chris will be with us for class on Thursday March 24, I'd love to generate some questions to ask him. Please think about the style of questions we've worked on in class and write 4-5 questions for Chris. Pleas read the questions posted before you post so we avoid repeats.
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What is the role of women in the story of the Ironmen, and why?
ReplyDeleteHow were women of the town discussed by the people you interviewed?
Would you consider your book a period piece? Do you think the liberal shift in Macon espouses the change that was sweeping America?
Would you consider this a coming of age story?
Were any people hesitant/reluctant to talk about the baseball seasons of 1970/71? Why?
What players had the most to say about their experience?
ReplyDeleteWhat was Sweet like in person?
What was the meaning for speaking about some games in more detail rather than others?
What inspired you to write this book?
How did your experience writing about other sports influence your writing for this book?
What do you think caused the change in Macon between the '70s and when Shartzer went back to visit at the end of the book?
ReplyDeleteWas it important that the book was about baseball instead of another sport?
Does Macon still have signs of the old Ironman team around town?
How did the team's ego play a role, or not play a role, in Macon's run to the state championship?
Does Macon still have some of its conservative roots?
ReplyDeleteHow did the Ironman's seasons of 1970 and 1971 help shape the town's identity?
What do you think the town's reaction would've been if the Ironmen won the championship game?
What do you the the town would be like today if the Ironmen didn't have their historic seasons?
Do you think a part of Shartzer is still missing due to the defeat in the championship game?
ReplyDeleteWhat messages were you trying to send to the reader by writing this story?
Do the people in Macon still reflect on the 70-71 season or have people forgotten about the Ironmen's magical journey?
What is the purpose/meaning of the various father/son relationships?
Who is your favorite character? Why? Which character interests you the most?
How did you discover the Ironmen's story?
ReplyDeleteDid you imagine appealing to a wider audience than just baseball fans?
Did you interview the other teams?
If so, what was their take on the Ironmen's underdog story?
Were they admired by others outside of the small town circuit?
Why did you decide to focus on the father/son relationships so heavily?
ReplyDeleteDo you think this book reflects America's changing identity from very conservative to more liberal?
How were you impacted by interviewing these men and writing a book about them? Did you learn anything about yourself or baseball?
Why did you pick this story to write about, considering there are so many "David and Goliath" stories in sports, what drove you to pick this specific one?
Do you believe that you accurately represented every character in the book or did you slightly change/purposefully not include any details to emphasize your intended impact?
ReplyDeleteYou speak about Shartzer's inability to let go of the 1971 season, but did that season positively affect anyone as much as it negatively affected Shartzer?
How does the team feel about the book? Were there reactions expected?
To me this book helps me understand why people play sports, as it provides people with a purpose: was this your intention?
Who was his favorite character to write about?
ReplyDeleteDid he ever talk to or interview Mcclard while writing the story?
What does the motif of father-son relationships mean in the story? what's he trying to teach us?
Why did he focus most on Henneberry and Shartzer? Why not Snitker who became Brave's 3B coach?
Did he interview anyone seniors from that 1st season (Tomlinson etc...)?
What do you think the larger meaning of the story is?
ReplyDeleteDo you think the success of the Ironmen changed Sweet eventually?
Has Macon changed?
Out of all the underdog stories in the sports world, why did you choose to write about this one? What drew you to it?
When writing this book, did you have some sort of lesson or significance that you wanted to portray through the story?
ReplyDeleteWas Steve a difficult person to read?
What was the response you got when you told the interviewed people you were writing a book about the ironmen? where they suprised?
Why did you focus on the Lane tech game more than the final?
In what ways does masculinity play a role in the growth of the Macon Ironmen?
ReplyDeleteHave you had the chance to go back to Macon? If so, what changes if any have you seen, if any?
What inspired you to write about Macon?
What is your favorite book or article that you have written?
Who is the intended audience for this story?
ReplyDeleteHave you returned to Macon since writing the story, and if so, how has it changed (if at all)?
What was or what do you think was Macon's reaction to this book's publication?
What did you personally learn from writing this story?
As this is a story focused on winning but that ends in loss, what messages do you think readers should take away from the story?
What role does baseball play in the lives of the people of Macon?
ReplyDeleteDo you think that the team's success is due more to the Sweet's coaching style, or his personality?
Why do you think that the players bought into Sweet's methods?
How has the publication of the book impacted Macon?
What is the meaning of the title of the book?
ReplyDeleteHow extensive were your interviews with players from other teams?
How did you learn about the iron men?
When writing non-fiction, how do you make the story seem more fiction like, if at all?
Where did you first find out about this story?
ReplyDeleteHow did you find the people you needed to talk with?
Who was your favorite person to talk to?
Is there anything you wish you did differently?
What about this story seemed special to you and worth writing a story about?
ReplyDeleteHow did you find out about the story?
Which character did you like meeting the most?
Are there any parts of the book that you needed to edit out?