ADVICE TO FEATURE WRITERS:A guide to better writing, Love Writing

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Feature and Column Writing MCM 514

LESSON 18

ADVICE TO FEATURE WRITERS

A guide to better writing

Usually, when you're good at something, you don't bother to analyse or think about the mechanics of the

technique. You just do it either because it comes naturally to you or because you've been doing it for so

long that it's become ingrained in you.

Now, are good writers born or taught? This imponderable is probably asked in all professions, especially

ones involving artistic endeavours. It's that old nature versus nurture debate. How much of what you are

as a person is a result of your genes and how much is influenced by your environment? No one really

knows for sure.

But trying to figure this out is not just an academic exercise. As a writer, an editor or a writing coach, one

must know what produces great writing. Is the ability to write well something latent in someone who,

perhaps, was born with the right mix of intelligence, language capabilities and imagination? Or is good

writing something that anyone, with the right amount of determination and training, is capable of

producing?

One can tilt a little bit towards the nature side of things. You can teach someone to be a capable writer,

but the really good ones are born with that special blend of creativity that allows them to rise above the

rest.

So, if you're not a natural born writer, does that mean you can't produce good articles? No! Good writing

is something that can be observed, learnt and repeated.

There is one quality that must be inherent, though, and that is the love of writing. Only with genuine

desire will you have the perseverance and discipline to do all the things you need to do to improve.

At its most fundamental, you'll have to read a whole lot more than the average person. And write

whenever you have the chance. Write, write, and write!

It may be true that great writers are born that way but with hard work and a steady devotion to the craft,

anyone can be made if not a great writer at least a good one.

Tip 1: Love Writing

If you find writing to be a chore; if you grumble each time your editor gives you an extra assignment; if

you'd rather be doing something else other than writing, you should be asking yourself: 'What am I doing

in this profession?' If you don't love writing, give up. You really have no business being a writer because

you won't be very good at it. It's as simple as that.

"Writing a book is like rearing children willpower has very little to do with it. If you have a little baby

crying in the middle of the night, and if you depend only on willpower to get you out of bed to feed the

baby, that baby will starve. You do it out of love. Willpower is a weak idea; love is strong. You don't

have to scourge yourself with cat-o'-nine tails to go to the baby. You got to the baby out of love for that

particular baby. That's the same way you go to your desk... I write because I love writing."

Donald M. Murray, writing coach and Boston Globe columnist.

II: Love Reading

If you don't love reading, you should also be questioning yourself whether being a writer is the right

profession for you. For it's only when you read a lot about your topic of specialisation as well as general

knowledge material that you can become a good writer.

But reading is not just for acquiring knowledge. It also helps you to learn about different writing styles

and ultimately allows you to eventually develop your own writing style.

Be an avid reader.

The more one reads, the more he understands the process of writing, for one does not just read, he also

analyses the different writing styles.

"You should read and read and read. That is your only hope of ever developing a decent individual style."

Steven Koch, Princeton and Columbia writing teacher

Feature and Column Writing MCM 514

III: Find Role Models

It is said that imitation is the sincerest of flattery. But for those of us trying to become better writers,

imitation is more than flattery; it's a powerful and time-honoured way to master the craft.

Some very important lessons are learnt by writing down turns-of-phrases by other writers. But don't just

copy. Analyse. If a particular phrase or sentence is appealing to you, don't just enjoy the words. Ask

yourself what it is you like about it. Break the sentence down and try to understand why those words

managed to elicit a reaction from you.

In the end, you must use your own words to become the writer you want to be. But you can learn loads by

initially copying and analysing the style of other writers. Through this method, you gain an intimate

understanding of the way good writers construct their sentences.

"Do not fear imitation. Nobody sensible pursues an imitative style as a long-term goal, but all

accomplished writers know that the notion of pure originality is a childish fantasy. Up to a point,

imitation is the path to discovery and essential to growth."

Stephen Koch, Princeton and Columbia writing teacher

IV: Be a Specialist

You won't go very far as a generalist. It's a dog-eat-dog world out in the writing market, with plenty of

competition ready to eat your lunch. To carve a niche for yourself, decide on a topic or area that you will

specialise in. Then,

i) Read prodigiously about the topic

ii) Talk to people in the industry

iii) Devour books and magazines, and constantly comb the web for knowledge.

The best specialist writers constantly read about their area of specialty. As a result, they are well-versed in

the language, issues and events relating to those topics. They are like a sponge, absorbing knowledge all

the time.

But it's not enough to read. You need to be on the ground. You need to be everywhere, from product

launches to press conferences. You need to invest time talking to everyone and anyone that matters in that

particular industry.

Quite often, specialty writers know their stuff so well that their industry contacts sometimes turn to them

to find out the latest industry news and gossip. When you've reached that level, you would have carved a

niche for yourself.

V: Be Versatile

Being a specialist doesn't mean being rigid and unable to write about any other topic or in any other style

other than the niche you've carved for yourself?

As a professional writer, you have to specialise in something but be versatile enough to do a broad range

of stories. There is, of course, a limit to how diverse a person can be as a writer. But as a general rule, it's

a good idea to expose yourself to a handful of genres.

"If you have any talent as a writer, you have to be versatile. I can write a long story. I can write a short

story, I can write a feature, I can write a hard news story. You have to be able to do that as a reporter. If

you tend to write the same kind of story all the time, you're not really growing as a writer."

Russell Eshleman Jr, The Philadelphia Inquirer

VI: Be Your Own Harshest Critic

Good writers are rarely satisfied. They write a word, then tap the delete key and start all over again.

Multiple times. They're always trying to find a more compelling lead to draw in the reader, a stronger

angle, and more colourful quotes to spice up the story, a snappier conclusion leaves a lasting impression

on the reader.

To be a good writer, you must constantly review your work. Once you've finished writing an article, take

a short breather, walk around the house, have a coffee, and then read your story from start to end. When

doing so, role-play the reader. Pretend you're reading the story for the first time.

Feature and Column Writing MCM 514

Does the lead make you want to keep reading? Does it take you too long to learn what the story is about

and why it's important to you? What questions do you have about the story? Are they answered in the

order you would logically ask them? Was the conclusion memorable enough? Be your own harshest

critic.

Do this until you are sufficiently satisfied with what you've got (as a good writer, you should NEVER be

fully satisfied).

VII: Be a Stickler for Accuracy

Of course, everyone makes mistakes, no one is perfect, but writers must take great care to get their facts

right. Otherwise they lose their greatest asset: Credibility. If you're known to regularly get the small

things wrong, your ability to get the big picture right will be questioned by your readers.

Three rules of thumb to avoid making mistakes:

1. Get it right the first time around. During an interview, take the necessary time and care to read back the

spelling of the source's name and other names they mention. As for all the details you need right there

and then. Don't fact-check after the fact. Do it during the reporting process.

2. Don't rely on memory and never assume. During the writing, constantly refer to your notes and other

materials you have gathered while reporting the story. Also, do not make assumptions. If the facts, details

or quotes you need are not in your notes, do a follow up interview (by phone if necessary) to get them

straight from the horses' mouths.

3. Verify that you've got it right. After you're done writing, it's never a bad thing to read back the relevant

portions of your story to the people you've interviewed. This is particularly important when you are

writing about something complex. For example, if you're describing a complicated financial transaction or

an unusual medical procedure, there's nothing wrong with asking the people you've interviewed to listen

to what you've written. Ask them: "Have I described it correctly?" They will tell you.

VIII: Be Smart with Numbers

Dealing with numbers is always a tricky thing. When you write a feature story that involves lots of

numbers, make sure you tell the story in a way that allows people to understand the significance of those

numbers.

Relativity

Remember that number, in of themselves, have little significance to readers. Their value to your story

comes from their relative values, not their absolute values. So, when you must refer to numbers in a story,

make a point to compare them to something else. Here's an example:

"The Bakun Dam would flood 69,640 hectares of forest."

That sentence above means nothing to the average reader who would have no clue how big 69,640

hectares is. Now, let's have a look at this next sentence.

"The Bakun Dam would flood 69,640 hectares of forest, an area roughly the size

of Singapore."

Now, it's easy for anyone visualize just how big Bakun Dam is. Get it?

Rounding Off

Unless you are writing a financial article or report, you don't need to use precise figures. Rounding off is a

good practice that makes your story flow better. So, it's okay to say "nearly doubled" or "about three

times as much as" and remain both accurate and understandable.

For example, if 32.56 per cent of students flunked the final exam, it'd be perfectly fine to say that "about

one in three students failed to make the grade".

Similarly, if someone has been working his trade for 29 years and six months, it's fine to say, "Mr. Lee

has been selling his famous assam laksa for nearly three decades.'

Feature and Column Writing MCM 514

IX: Write Tightly

When you write, remember to write tightly. One of the main reasons writers like to write long articles is

because it's much easier to write loosely. But that's a lousy practice.

Writing tightly requires you to cut out all kinds of stuff from your precious article. And nobody likes to

do that. But being a professional writer means having the discipline to murder your darlings.

Every time I write an article, I still have to force myself to cut out some of my favourite bits from the

story. It's always a struggle but I eventually do what's necessary. What survive my scalpel are the

absolutely essential bits.

Three rules of thumb for writing tightly:

1. Never write a paragraph where a sentence will do; and never use a long word where a short one will do

2. If it's possible to cut a word out, cut it out

3. Stick religiously to assigned word length. This will force you to cut out non-essential information and

avoid detours that might be interesting to you but will detract from the focus of your story.

Keep your copy tight, you should start by distilling your raw notes and quotes before you even begin

writing. The danger of not doing so is that everything ends up being used. Then what you get is a jumbled

mess, not a story.

Remember, in composing your story, you only want the most illustrative anecdotes, the most essential

details and the most memorable quotes. So, be merciless in cutting out everything else.

The next time you find yourself thinking "I shouldn't be wasting this quote" remember the "iceberg

effect". When you see an iceberg, all you are seeing is the tip. A huge chunk of it is hidden away beneath

the surface of the water. Similarly, every good story is derived from a whole bunch of interviews, data

and research material that don't necessarily make it to the final story. Their roles are to help you gain a

better understanding of the topic you are writing about.

"Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no

unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a

machine no unnecessary parts."

William Strunk Jr, author of The Elements of Style

"If you used every quote you got, your stories would go on forever... So you use your quotes to bolster

the main points of your stories, and then cut it off..."

Russell Eshleman, Jr, The Philadelphia Inquirer

A common response I get from writers when I ask them to cut out stuff from their stories is "But, I don't

want to waste anything". That's a wrong attitude to have. Just because some information doesn't get used

doesn't mean it's wasted.

"The main rule of a writer is never to pity your manuscript. If you see something is no good, throw it

away and begin again. A lot of writers have failed because they have too much pity. They have already

worked so much; they cannot just throw it away. But I say that the wastepaper basket is a writer's best

friend. My wastepaper basket is on a steady diet."

Isaac Bashevis Singer, winner of the 1978 Nobel Prize in Literature

X: Add Colour

It doesn't mean your story should read like an SMS.

I always remind non-fiction writers that even though we write about real world people and events,

ultimately, we are still storytellers. The qualities that make up a good story still need to be in our articles.

That's why it's important for you to add colour to your stories.

Feature and Column Writing MCM 514

An effective way to add colour is to use vivid details where appropriate. When you describe something or

someone, make a point to provide a sense of place, a sense of the personalities involved and a sense of

time, so that the readers feel like they are actually there.

Below are some comments by journalists from various publications on how they use detail to add colour

to their stories:

"In a good story, a paranoid schizophrenic doesn't just hear imaginary voices, he hears them say, `Go kill

a policeman.'"

David Finkel, The Washington Post

"You ask the questions: What was it like? What did it feel like? Take the reader where he cannot go.

What is it like in those woods? What is it like on that island? What is it like in that person's dreams? And

you do that by accumulating every bit of meaningful detail and using it where it seems appropriate. It's

what you leave out sometimes that is as important as what you put in."

Carol McCabe, The Providence Journal

"When I sit down to write a story, I want people to see the story, I want people to feel what I feel, hear

what I hear, taste what I taste, and smell what I smell. So those are kind of the basic Writing 101 things

that I'm using. The colours, the smell, the marked-up pages of his Bible... Oftentimes, when I'm in these

situations interviewing people, I have a finite amount of time. As they're speaking and the tape recorder is

rolling, I'm writing down these details all the time. It's like, what am I struck by? Her kitchen is perfectly

clean. It's black and white. A little girl sitting in her high chair, but she's not eating her Cheerios, all the

things that are happening around me..."

DeNeen L. Brown, The Washington Post

XI: Write the Way You Speak

When Don Murray showed up for his first day as the Boston Globe's writing coach more than 25 years

ago, he claimed he could tell straight away who the top three writers at the Globe were.

He looked around the room and pointed out a man and two women who indeed turned out to the best

writers in the newsroom.

How did he do it? Did he have some magical insight? No, actually it was something more down to earth.

According to Murray, he could tell who the best writers were because "their lips move when they write."

More often than not, good writers actually read out their stories, to themselves, to hear whether what they

wrote sounds right. I've long used that technique even before I had heard about Murray's anecdote. And I

can vouch that it really works to improve your writing.

If a sentence doesn't sound right when you read it for example, it doesn't flow so smoothly or is

awkward in some way then you know you'd better rewrite that sentence.

"Effective writing has the illusion of speech without its bad habits," Murray says. "The reader hears a

writer speaking to a reader. The writing should flow with grace, pace, and clarity not the way we speak

but, better than that, the way we should speak."

When you compose your article, write as if you were speaking to someone. That's the best way to get

your message across because it makes your articles simple to understand.

So, the next time you want to know if your article reads well, read the damn thing aloud! If it doesn't

sound good to you, you can be certain it won't sound good to others.

XII: Assume they don't know and don't Care

There are two assumptions I always make before I attempt to write on, whether it's a straight news piece,

a feature story or a commentary. They are:

The reader doesn't know anything about the topic I'm about to write on

The reader doesn't care either

The first assumption forces me to put in the necessary background information to make the story

understandable even to someone who has no clue about the topic.

Feature and Column Writing MCM 514

The second assumption forces me to make the story interesting. It shouldn't just appeal to the hardcore

who care deeply about the issue. Even those who don't care should find the article so compelling, they'd

want to read the whole thing through.

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