More from Paulina Yanez Navarro, NextGen journalist reporting in Mexico, (Paulina, left, checking her notes). Paulina, who is from Chile, has been assisting us in our reporting from Mexico City and is one of the NextGen journalists mentored by Round Earth. Paulina blogs about one important thing she’s learning on this reporting trip, an essential tension in all reporting. –Mary Stucky

Paulina: Where are we going now? That is the worst question that you can ever have when you are working on a story.

During this reporting trip in Mexico, I’ve learned that you cannot start to work without a plan.
Without organization, we wouldn’t be able to do the job that is necessary to get a great story. And during this entire time in Mexico we’ve always known what the next step will be. Time is so important and valuable. Here in Mexico we have been running every day after every interview. And, for the most part, it has worked

To be prepared means to learn how to react in front of any change in an intelligent way; it means that you can’t lose the focus of your work, but at the same time must always be open to possibilities, always looking for new opportunities to interview interesting people or to know important facts for your story. Even if you have everything prepared to work on a story, every single day is a surprise where you’ll never know what is going to happen.

To be a good journalist, plans must be flexible.