Introduction & creative preparation.

Introduction & creative preparation.

 

There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.

(Maya Angelou on the untold story)

 

Ideas carry a society forward. The ideas of freedom, independence, individualism, religion, and social order first existed in the minds of men and women but have been crystallized for us by great writers and thinkers Thomas Jefferson.

 

The written word is one of the most powerful forces available to human. It has the ability to carry ideas and information, to entertain and distract, and to change the lives of individuals and nations. The person who wants to write rarely realizes he power that is contained in writing. Yet it is there- and available to those who have the information and ideas and who are clever and hardworking enough to learn to write well.

 

How do you write well?  Outside the classroom, we were writing in our diaries or writing thank you letter .

 

How do you gather together the words that will convey the information, ideas, or feeling you want to give to the reader? How do you write well?

 

The first step to good writing is recognizing this essential point.

 

 

1 What is good writing ?

Food writing , especially good writing for the mass media, is clear, concise, simple, and to the point. It  transmits in formation, ideas, and feeling to the reader clearly but without overstatement. Good writing is writing that outlines pictures of ides that readers can fill in with their imagination.

- It uses the minimum number of words to make its point. It doesn’t waste the reader’s time.

-Use words for their exact meaning ; they do not throw words around carelessly.

-It leaves no doubt or confusion in the reader’s mind about its meaning.

Good writing is modest. It does not draw attention to itself. Good writing does not try to show off the writer’s  intelligence. It lets the content speak for itself, and it allows readers to receive messages directly. Writing should not get in the way of what people need and want to read.

 

2 Getting ready to write

Prewriting process is developing a sense of what it means to communicate with a mass audience. Writers should understand that they are no longer writing for individuals but for a larger audience.

Much writing done in K-12 education is justified as a means of self-expression for students. This kind of writing is a valuable exercise for all individuals, but in the mass media environment, there is relatively little room for self-expression. Audiences are interested in the information and ideas that a writer possesses, not in how the writer feels or in what the writer thinks. This fact drives the spare, unadorned style of writing that the media demand.

Would-be writers for the mass media should understand enough about the process of writing to know that they can always improve, that they can always do better. They must view their craft with a generous dose of humility. Every writer, no matter how experienced or talented, begins with a black page or an empty computer screen. The writer must put the words there, and no amount of experience or talent guarantees success. A good writer should always be willing to do whatever it takes to improve in the craft.

 

3. Know the tools of the trade.

For writers, knowledge of the rules of grammar and spelling is mandatory. (Not all writers have to be great spellers, but they should know the rules, and they should always work with a dictionary close at hand.) Writers must know the precise meanings of words and how to use words precisely; although they do not have to use every word they know, having a variety available gives the writer extra tools to use id needed.

Writers must not only know the language but must also understand and be genuinely interested in it.

 

4. Know the subject

Writers must understand thoroughly what they are writing about, or readers will not understand what they have written. Beginning writers frequently have trouble with this most basic requirement of good writing. They sometimes believe that they can write their way through a subject that just getting the words down is enough. Find out what you need to know. Ask questions of people who do know. Look for information.

 

5. Write it down

You cannot be a writer unless you put words on paper or on a computer screen. People can think, talk, and agonize all nigh about what they would like to write. They can read and discuss; they can do research and even make notes. But no one is a writer until ideas become words and sentences become paragraphs. At some point, the writer must sit down and write.

 

6. Edit and rewrite

Good writers have the discipline to reread, edit, and rewrite. Writer must constantly ask whether the writing can be clearer, more precise, and more readable. And writers should have the courage to say, “This isn’t what I wanted to say” or even “this isn’t very good”.

 

I try only to write clearly, and I have the very good fortune to think clearly so that the writing comes out as I think, in satisfactory shape.

 

(Isaac Asimov on thinking and writing clearly)

 

 

 

 

Basic Techniques

 

1Write simply

This is a thought you will see repeatedly in this book. The key to clarity is simplicity. A clear, simple writing style is not the exclusive possession of a few gifted writers. Such a style can be achieved by students who are just beginning a writing career. The power of simple writing is immense. The following quotations are famous because they convey powerful message in clear and simple language:

 

 

These are the times that try men’s souls. (Thomas Paine, 1776)

 

Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose. ( Gertrude Stein, 1913)

 

I have a dream. (Martin Luther King, jr., 1963)

 

2Use simple words

Short words are not only handier to use but more powerful in effect.

 

Sample

I never write” metropolis” for seven cents because I can get the same price for “city”. I never write “policeman” because I can get the same money for “cop”

 

(Mark twain on using simple words.)

 

 

3Use simple sentences

Simple sentence is a good tool for cleaning up muddy writing. Exp “she was shot through the right lung after confronting a woman married to her ex-husband inside the food world store on bank head highway. Shortly before 1pm, she confronted the woman married to her ex-husband. She was shot through the right lung.”

 

It has no substitute, and its absence will not be excused by readers or listener.

 

 

4Use familiar words rather than unfamiliar words

Writers should not try to educate their readers by introducing them to new words. Such writing slows the reader down; it makes the reader think about the writing rather than the content; and it eventually drives the reader away.

 

5Vary sentence type and length

There are 4 kinds of sentence structure: simple, complex, compound, and compound- complex. Following are some sample.

Simple: Alex wrote a letter to his friend.

Compound: Alex wrote a letter, and he mailed it the next day.

Complex: Alex wrote a letter that contained his confession to the crime.

Compound and complex: Alex wrote a letter than contained his confession, and he mailed it the next day.

 

Writers should not overuse is the inverted sentence. A good example of this kind of sentence is the previous sentence- as in this sentence. The inverted sentence puts the subject at the end rather than the beginning and is not a good idea for media writing. Writers should convey ideas and information to readers quickly and efficiently.

 

6Pay Attention to nouns and verbs

 

7transition tie together what you have written.

Readers should be able to read through a piece of writing without stops or surprise. Introducing a new idea or piece of information without adequately tying it to other part of a story is one way to stop reader cold.

 

Writing for the mass media

 

Writing for the mass media differs from other forms of writing in several aspects.

 

Subject Matter

Writers for the mass media must take on wide variety of subjects and use a variety of formats, including news stories, feature stories, advertisements , letters, and editorials.

 

Purpose

Writing for the mass media has three major purposes: to inform, entertain, or persuade.

 

Audience

Mass media writing is often directed at a wide audience, and this fact dictates not only the subject matter but also the way in which something is written.

 

Circumstances of writing

Writing for the mass media often takes place in presence of others who are doing the same thing. The writing is frequently done under deadline pressure, and many times several people will have a hand in writing and editing a particular item for the mass media.