Wright Thompson discusses “The Barn” and writing advice

Speaking with eloquent prose through a deep voice, Wright Thompson described his new book, “The Barn: The Secret History of a Murder in Mississippi,” to an attentive audience at the Morton Theatre on Oct. 1.

“This is an incredibly heinous murder, but the truth about it has remained virtually unknown,” Thompson said of the revisionist history that has surrounded the story.

Thompson, a respected sports journalist and author, talked about his new book with Charles Davis, dean of Grady College and Thompson’s former professor when they were both at the University of Missouri.

Thompson detailed his interest in this story, ignited by the fact that the barn where 14-year-old Emmett Till was brutally murdered, is located 23 miles from where Thompson grew up. Thompson did not know anything about the 1955 murder until he learned about it in college.

“This is a true history about a place I was born, and it is deeply personal,” Wright continued.

Wright talked about the extensive research that went into this book, including studying all the intersections of geography, land ownership, money, crops and people involved. They all come together at the Barn where the torture and murder took place.

“The Barn is part of the ecosystem,” Thompson explained. “There is blood in the dirt and the book became a story about the barn in as macro way as possible.”

Prior to the evening discussion, Wright talked with students, many who are in the Sports Media program. The ESPN journalist gave advice on interviewing athletes and coaches, writing long-form stories and editing features.

“My corner of the sandbox is better than it’s ever been before,” Thompson said of his career.

His advice to students included building reps of writing, getting organized and “finding an order in the chaos.”

Thompson told students that for “The Barn,” he wrote 1,000 words a day for 290 days, then had lot of content to edit.

“The art is in the cut,” he said, adding that he believes in Post-It notes to stay organized because he is always terrified of leaving the best content out.

Thompson also described his editing process for “The Barn”: “I had to see the barn, the killers or Emmett Till in every sentence.” If he didn’t see one of those three, the content was cut.

Known for writing in rich detail, Wright advised that writers don’t need to include every detail in the room, but enough details that will evoke it later.

He finished his time with the students by saying that when writing about athletes, it’s usually the extreme accomplishments or unusual stories that initially attract him to the story, but ultimately, he writes about what people have in common.

“Deep, successful stories are drawn from what is universal,” Wright concluded.

Author: Sarah E. Freeman, freemans@uga.edu