Read the craft
in action.
14 texts and sidebars from L’autre Afrique to study the craft. Original titles and references identify each reading; the exercises can also be applied to your own stories.
AAF-01Que c’est triste Bangui
Fanny Pigeaud · 19-25 September 2001
Study scene-led reporting and a plurality of voices.
Your turn
Choose a place in your city. Plan an action-led opening, three sources with different positions and one context question. After the visit, write 200 words, separating observations, quotations and information checked elsewhere.
Full text to be added to the online collection.
Related lessons : 12, 13, 14, 23, 24, 26, 27, 29, 31, 33, 35
AAF-02La mort d’un juste
Tierno Monénembo · 31 October-6 November 2001
Study nuance in a portrait and the impact of an ending.
Your turn
Write 180 words about someone you admire. Show a specific action and a real contradiction. Remove the praising adjectives: readers should understand your admiration through facts and scenes.
Full text to be added to the online collection.
AAF-03Le triangle de la honte
Corinne Moncel · 19-25 September 2001
Examine context, numbers and the limits of knowledge.
Your turn
Choose a central number in a story. Find its source, what it measures and what it excludes. Write a three-line caption that preserves an essential qualification.
Full text to be added to the online collection.
AAF-04Rêves interdits
Jean-Baptiste Placca · 18-31 August 1999
Study a thesis, an objection and editorial responsibility.
Your turn
Write the triggering fact, your thesis, the strongest objection and your answer. Develop a 250-word editorial, checking factual claims separately from its tone.
Full text to be added to the online collection.
AAF-05Convaincre par nos résultats
Jean-Baptiste Placca · October 2001
Connect documentation with the weight of a last sentence.
Your turn
Rewrite your latest ending in three ways: a scene, an exact quotation and a synthesis. Choose the ending that closes the angle without making a claim the reporting cannot support.
Full text to be added to the online collection.
AAF-06Dignes et meilleurs
Jean-Baptiste Placca · 4-17 August 1999
Prepare sensitive questions and practise listening.
Your turn
Prepare five interview questions, including one sensitive question justified by the public interest. Explain when you will ask it, the evidence behind it and the follow-up if the answer is evasive.
Full text to be added to the online collection.
Related lessons : 16
AAF-07Inquisition en Terre promise
Eder Lizi · 19-25 September 2001
Compare estimates without inventing a compromise.
Your turn
Find two conflicting estimates about a local issue. Record each number, its source and its definition. Draft the document request or question that could explain the difference.
Full text to be added to the online collection.
Related lessons : 15
AAF-08Les devoirs de la puissance
Jean-Baptiste Placca · September 2001
Separate values, facts and argument.
Your turn
Write a 200-word position on a public decision. Separate a value, two verifiable facts, a serious objection and a specific proposal. Check facts separately from judgment.
Full text to be added to the online collection.
Related lessons : 20
AAF-09La danse des scorpions
Achille Mbembe · 18-31 August 1999
Read generalisations critically and rewrite precisely.
Your turn
Find a sentence that gives an entire population a single trait. Rewrite it around identifiable actors and facts. List the additional reporting needed to support the criticism.
Full text to be added to the online collection.
Related lessons : 33
AAF-10Honorine, mère courage…
Fanny Pigeaud · 19-25 September 2001
Connect portrait writing with dignity and agency.
Your turn
Write 150 words about an ordinary person: an observed action, a choice, a contradiction and an exact quotation. Check that the person retains agency beyond the difficulty being described.
Full text to be added to the online collection.
AAF-11Trois questions à Jean-Paul Ngoupandé
Fanny Pigeaud · 19-25 September 2001
Ask short questions in service of one angle.
Your turn
Prepare three questions about a local economic difficulty: one frames it, one makes it more specific and one tests a received idea. State the information each question should produce.
Full text to be added to the online collection.
AAF-12Santé : ce droit qu’on vous refuse
Théophile Kouamouo et al. · 16-22 June 1999 · complementary reading
Apply a reading grid to the original health dossier.
Your turn
After reading the original dossier, plan a story about access to health care in your city: an angle, three different kinds of source and two documents. Write a 45-word standfirst without using unchecked facts.
AAF-13Randy Weston un très grand de « l’African Rhythm »
Diallo Bios, Moctar Kane, Luc Ngowet, Fanny Pigeaud · July 2002 · complementary reading
Study details, a defining thread and verification.
Your turn
Write a 100-word portrait opening from a real encounter, using two observed details and an action. Separately list three biographical facts to check before publication.
AAF-14Brésil, Cuba, Fidji, Etats-Unis… Nous sommes tous africains
Diallo Bios, Moctar Kane, Luc Ngowet, Fanny Pigeaud · July 2002 · complementary reading
Examine follow-ups, direct speech and context.
Your turn
Choose an answer in the interview and write a follow-up of fewer than fifteen words. Explain what it should establish. Then prepare three questions for a local artist, including a request for a factual detail.