The art of writing has been used for centuries to spread the word far and wide, across continents and cultures. And while writing has evolved from scribbles on cave walls to the electronic missives, the power of the written word is as significant now as it was then. Through writing, we disseminate the news, tell stories, teach and entertain. Effective writing preserves the rich tradition of writing for many generations to come.
Writing is an essential component of journalism. Whether you are writing for the newspaper, the Internet, radio or television, you are involved in the process of collecting information, verifying it and presenting it in a clearly understood format. Clear, plain language that is easy to read is particularly relevant in the information age. Many people do not have the time or the inclination to wade through loads of information and big words to get to the meat of the issue. There are many ways to become a more effective writer a few of which will be presented here.
Determine the message that you wish to get across.
Deciding on the message and narrowing the focus of the message is an important feature of good writing. Make a list of the key areas of your message through your own internal brainstorming system. Review the list and cast out those that don't make the cut. Get creative in determining how to effectively deliver your message and be cognizant of the audience you are writing for.
What Does the Reader need to know?
Try to assess the reasons a reader may choose your article. What do they hope to get from your writing. Will they flip pages or change the screen or the channel after the first paragraph or first sentence? Will they have to go through a lot of peripheral information in other to understand your message? In other words, try to become the reader for a moment and determine whether you would be helped by what you read if the roles were reversed.
What is the most effective way to get your message across?
Now that you understand your message and you have figured out what the reader hopes to gain from reading your article, you now have to select the most effective method of getting your message across. Look at the overall structure of your sentences and your paragraphs. If they seem too long and unwieldy, trim them; if sentences seem disjointed fix them. Would a video or photograph help to illustrate your point better? Use them.
The Inverted Pyramid
Journalists have long been partial to the inverted pyramid which deals with how information is arranged in a story. Putting the most important information at the top of the pyramid allows the reader to get the most with the least amount of effort. What you are essentially doing is using the pyramid concept to organize your thoughts with the goal of maximizing the readers experience. This is especially pertinent when writing for the web. Taking this concept a little further, with the most important information is in the first part of the article, you guarantee that scanners will get what they need quickly or that they will be enticed to delve deeper into your article.
Be a reader first.
Reading makes one a better writer and I believe this is something all writers know to be true even if they may not always practice it.It is what you do anyway when you are engaged in researching a topic for your feature article or even for a novel. A good writer will make reading on a regular basis an integral part of his or her journalistic endeavours. Reading newspapers and magazines is especially useful. Take notes, organize clips and information, jot down ideas, things you hear or read about. This information can come in very handy for future writing assignments.
Be relentless about editing your work.
Often as journalists, we tend to take the short cut when it comes to verifying our work. Spell check is a useful tool but it can be seriously lacking in terms of finding grammatical errors and typos. Keep a good companion English grammar book handy and always refer to if you are in doubt. There should be no excuse for grammatical errors and typos as far as journalists are concerned. Journalists should be role models for young and upcoming writers and writers could quickly lose credibility if their work is found to be lacking basic writing standards.
Writing is an enduring art form and the opportunity to write for an audience is a great privilege. Journalists are charged with the responsibility of continually improving their craft, engaging the reading public and preserving the precious art of writing.