Read Will's story on the racehorse Winx here
Read Will's story on surfer Steph Gilmore here
[02:17] Will talks us through his backstory, and how he came to be a sports writer
"I played a lot of sport … I was a good cricketer and tennis player. I beat Todd Woodbridge love-and-love when we were in the Under-14s – I think Todd was about eight"
"I really love the atmosphere of a game day, the emotion that surrounds live sport – the psychology of it all and what an athlete goes through from when they wake up on a big day to just how that whole thing plays out."
[08:30] Will talks about note-taking in an interviewing, and what he'll take in terms of questions into an interview
"Straight after an interview I'll write a lede straight out on pen and paper – just on a scrap piece of paper. A lot of the interviews are so enjoyable, you're still kind of up (immediately afterward) … so I'll write down a couple of parts that I think will make the lede."
[12:28] Will talks about his habit of writing in two-hour bursts
[15:35] Will talks about his piece on the racehorse Winx, in which he included his daughter, who came along with him to the Rosehill Racecourse for this story…
"If there was one yarn I enjoyed writing – ever – it was that"
"To be honest, not much of that stuff is deliberate … I feel really untrained as a writer … I didn't go to journalism college, so I feel like there's no set method to stick to. I'm lucky I have bosses who give me the freedom to do that."
"You can tell if someone's having fun while they're writing – there's fun in the words, there's fun in the story."
[27:57] Will talks about finding your voice as a writer, and what that means to him
"The mistake can be trying to be something you're not. I've definitely had stages where I've thought, 'Well if I'm going to be a newspaper journo, I've got to forget the colour stuff … and not waffle on. But I didn't enjoy it half as much."
[32:24] Will talks about scenes, with the dawn at Rosehill an example
"The really enjoyable stuff [is] being somewhere – at a live event, at the stadium or the racetrack. And that's where I just take notes non-stop. That kind of thing of trying to write it in the present or in the moment is really important to try and get the atmosphere across."
[34:20] Will talks about rhythm and momentum in a story, and how he writes in the moment, when he's feeling it
"That goosebump feeling that you have in the moment won't last – so the sooner you write it, the more it's going to come across in your writing."
[38:44] Will talks about finding a 'sting in the tail' to his story
"You want to structure it so there's a good proper ending … a lot of the times your best lines might also be your last one … you've got to trust your editors that they're not just going to chop it from the bottom."
[41:16] Will talks about teeing up the interview for his profile with surfing champ Steph Gilmore
"I remember covering Steph from when she was a teenage rookie – happiest person on the planet. So you've got a long-standing working relationship with someone, and hopefully a bit of trust is part of that."
"It had happened years earlier but she'd never really talked about it in detail … and that kind of stuff is so enjoyable to do."
[42:20] Will talks about the benefits of a pre-planned interview
"If you're willing enough to be open and honest, I give you my word that I will do my very best to say the story in the right way … if you put your heart into the interview over a couple of hours, I will put my heart into the yarn for you and let's see how we go."
[49:30] Will on using a technique to put the reader in the room with him and the subject
[52:49] Will on striking a balance between his own words and using quotes
[54:15] Will on the bane of every journo's existence: transcribing interviews
[55:12] Will on the pros and cons of specialising within sport
[59:57] Will tackles our weekly hypothetical: Who would he most love to interview and then write about in-depth
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