After four years of editing and writing for The Falcon, class of 2020 alumna Anna Novoselov decided to continue journalism by starting her own blog, Our Stories Won’t Fade, in April.
Our Stories Won’t Fade focuses on profiling people and specifically zeroing in on singular, defining moments of their lives. These often include emotional moments, turning points or passions.
Novoselov, a freshman at UCLA, interviews different sources to see how these specific moments impact their lives and identities. To date, she has published over 28 profiles on her blog.
Her blog contains a variety of profiles: She has interviewed her friends and people she has met through student organizations. Additionally, her friends have recommended other people or travel bloggers to her. She has profiled people of all ages, ranging from a high school junior to a 78-year-old man.
“I felt like my blog was a way to connect with people that I may have not spoken to on a much deeper level,” Novoselov said. “Instead of just going into small talk, I actually get to know them in a really meaningful and significant way. I can also gain some insights for myself as well.”
One travel blogger she interviewed was David Hoffman, who has 700,000 subscribers on YouTube. Novoselov interviewed Hoffman about his trip to India, which changed the trajectory of his career. Even though Hoffman was only in India for a few weeks, he enjoyed many eye-opening experiences and saw a sharp increase in his number of followers afterwards, which pushed his career to new heights.
Other people she has interviewed include 70-year-old Dan Marshall, who saved his friend while kayaking in the Cross Mountain Canyon, and 53-year-old Mary Carol, who is a mother fighting cancer.
On Novoselov’s part, the process of writing and publishing articles is rigorous, but she finds it enjoyable. Because the interviews follow the style of a conversation, Novoselov said that they don’t feel like “work.” Each interview typically lasts 40 to 60 minutes.
To begin her writing process, Novoselov solidifies the angle of the story and then sends any follow-up questions to her source via email or text message. After she has completed the rough draft, she sends it to the source to ask for their feedback. Novoselov said she doesn’t publish an article until the source agrees to it.
Novoselov has propelled her blog through her own networks such as Instagram and Facebook, and she also gets a following from her subjects who share the stories.
With the stress of college, Novoselov said she publishes articles every two weeks on Sundays.
Novoselov said she hopes to continue working on her blog as a hobby, as it has expanded her views of the world and fueled her own curiosity.
“Just hearing all the stories and getting to know people on such a deep level has really inspired me to continue with my blog,” Novoselov said.