One solution is a handy feature in Microsoft Word, Google Docs and other software that allows you to insert bookmarks and hyperlinks within the document you’re working on. These tools are usually found in the “Insert” menu. With bookmarks and links, you can create a table of contents at the top of your document, and use it to jump to different sections of your notes.

Here’s my notes template in Word. I crank this puppy up whenever I start a new story, whether it’s a quick article or a long project. Here’s a Google Docs version I created today.

I use eight sections in my notes: Chronology, Contacts, Draft, Resources, Interviews, Art Ideas, To do, and Questions. You can change or move these around as you see fit. Clicking on one of the links at the top of the page takes me to the section. Here’s a description of each one:

How do you create a new section? Let’s say you want to create a “Contacts” section in your notes. First you have to make the bookmark. Go to the spot in your document where you want to keep your phone numbers, click on the “Insert” menu, and select “Bookmark.” Create a bookmark called “Contacts.”

Then go to the top of the document where you have your table of contents and type “Contacts.” Outline the word with your cursor, and under the “Insert” menu select “Hyperlink” or “Link.” (A common shortcut is “Ctrl K.”) A menu pops up that allows you to select what kind of hyperlink you want. There should be an option to select a bookmark within your document. Select the “Contacts” bookmark, and you’re done.

Now every time you’re at your table of contents and click on “Contacts,” you’ll instantly see your Contacts section.

To outsiders this might seem like mundane stuff but it’s actually important. When we create order out of the chaos of our notes, we become better writers.

Any suggestions? Fire away.

(Photo credit: Derbeth)

Angela Grant at News Videographer has some fantastic tips for anyone who wants to improve their skills in shooting and editing video. If you’re tired of uploading shaky cell phone videos to YouTube, these pointers are for you.

Angela was our online video guru at the San Antonio Express-News and she saved my butt when I was in Portland doing a story about light rail. I had a point-and-shoot Panasonic Lumix with me that takes QuickTime video. My boss, David Sheppard, suggested I take some video of the rail system to show San Antonians what it’s like.

Great idea. Just one problem:

I had no idea how to take good video.

In a mild panic, I called Angela and she gave me a quick primer on some of the fundamentals:

The cool thing about these video techniques is that anyone can use them. Imagine how much better your family videos could be. They don’t have to be boring to everyone but you!

After I spoke with Angela, here was the result. Not the greatest video in the world, but it would have looked terrible without some intelligent advice.

To illustrate the huge difference these techniques make for just about any topic, I took two videos of some stray kittens my girlfriend and I found in our backyard. Here’s the first video loaded directly from my camcorder with no editing and no real thought of composing shots — a style you see all the time on YouTube:

See how annoying it is when the camera is shaky, panning around, and zooming?

Here’s a video that followed Angela’s advice:

Same kittens, different video techniques, better results.

Yes, it took a little longer to shoot and edit. But if you want people to watch your videos, isn’t it worth a little extra time to make something interesting? As a newspaper reporter, I think it’s challenging and fun to figure out new ways to tell a story with video, which can reveal some things better than the written word. The two methods compliment each other.

In the second kitten video, I used a tripod to keep the camera steady. For both videos, I used an external microphone, which vastly improves the sound quality, and an Aiptek high def camcorder. I edited the clips in Sony Vegas Movie Maker 9.0. You can also use free video-editing software available on Macs and PCs.

There will be times when setting up a shot isn’t feasible. If you’re covering a sporting event or getting compelling video like a police chase, by all means get the shot and follow the action.

But in most cases, these are some useful methods that will drastically improve the quality of any video.

“The Art and Craft of Feature Writing,” by William E. Blundell (Amazon $10.17 new)

Organizing and writing long, in-depth stories in a way that keeps readers engaged is a challenge. And it’s a challenge writers of the Wall Street Journal consistently overcome.

Blundell, who worked at the journal, shows you how they do it. He breaks down compelling stories to their raw elements like a scientist, analyzing what approaches work and don’t work. It’s a great how-to manual.

“The Word,” by Rene J. Cappon (Amazon $4 used copy)

Find telling details … weed clutter from your prose … grab readers and never let go … these are the simple messages preached by Cappon, a retired editor for the Associated Press. Students should read this wonderful book to learn how to get a story right. Journalists should read this book as a refresher course to break any bad habits they’ve picked up.

“On Writing Well,” by William Zinsser (Amazon $10.17 new)

Similar to Cappon, Zinsser preaches the value of the concise sentence and the precise word. Zinsser is a nonfiction author but his message still rings true for all writers: Make the reader’s job easy, or lose the reader.

“Super Searchers in the News” by Paula J. Hane (Amazon 50 cents used)

A great book for journalists in the Internet age. Hane interviews journalists who adeptly navigate the Web to find sources, information and documents to strengthen their stories. It’s a Q&A format with tons of references to useful sites.

“The Reporter’s Handbook” ($48 or $58, new)

When I was cutting my teeth at the school newspaper in college, I got to know the education writer at the daily newspaper, the San Antonio Express-News, and he suggested this book. He said it helped him learn about digging up records and finding sources.

Man, was he right.

I can’t think of any other book that affected the way I approach news stories. “The Reporter’s Handbook” is a lesson in the power of documents — where to find them, how to get them, and what to do with them. Public documents help you circumvent the many spin doctors you’ll encounter throughout your career. They help you find out what’s really going on.

Right after I devoured this book, we got a tip that laboratories in the Science Building on campus were in such disarray, the San Antonio bomb squad had been called in a few times to clean up some dangerous chemicals — the kind of stuff that goes boom if bumped.

Instead of calling up a dean and asking whether this was true, I sought out former employees, police reports and other records to write an in-depth story about a hidden problem almost no one on campus knew about — all thanks to “The Reporter’s Handbook.” By the time I called the dean, I already knew the tip was true. I just needed his comment for a fully documented story.

“The Reporter’s Handbook” has gone through many revisions to keep it up-to-date. The most recent edition is called “The Investigative Reporter’s Handbook,” by Len Bruzzese, Brant Houston, and Steve Weinberg.

Those are my picks for the best journalism books. What are yours?