Write Wrongs

Submitted by ub on

We only need a pen, paper, and a keyboard to write a compelling copy, and we should also put down that dangerous sword.

The pen is mightier than the sword is a metonymic adage created by English author Edward Bulwer-Lytton in 1839, indicating that the written word is more effective than violence for social or political change.

  1. Don’t separate the reporting from writing. Begin writing it in your head from the moment you get the assignment and all during the research.
  2. Find your focus in the field. If you wait until you get back to your desk to realize what your story is really about, you may not be able to go back and get what you need to make it work. 
  3. Take notes: “This is lead.” “Goes up high.” “Transition.”
  4. Before drafting, scratch out a five-point plan on a yellow pad. The little time you take to do this will save you valuable minutes. Denote the significant parts:
    • Trump as insulter-in-chief
    • History of presidential insults
    • Famous insults from literature
    • Abuses in popular culture, from rap to pro wrestling
    • Why do people like insults
  1. Write a “zero draft” to teach you what you know and what’s left to learn.
  2. Lower your standards for the first draft. Let your hands think. You can raise your standards with revision.
  3. If pressed for time, shoot for a draft and a half: a blast of writing followed by a quick read that corrects mistakes and cuts needless words.
  4. Keep it short: To borrow from Strunk and White, erect a pup tent, not a cathedral.
  5. Use social media early to learn and announce your main points.
  6. On a breaking topic like The Superbowl, you can conceive a story Kansas City will win and then be willing to reconceive it. The Rays are staging a comeback as circumstances change. Essentially, you are writing the story before you know the completed arc.
  7. Get on a wavelength with your editor through short debriefing sessions before and after the reporting. Two minutes at the front end can save precious time near the deadline.
  8. Have at your fingertips several reliable forms to write and deliver the news: pyramid, trapezoid, hourglass, anecdote/nut graf, five blocks. These prefabricated containers will streamline your process.
  9. Always write and re-write as needed. Compose bold, clear, mistake-free writing with Grammarly’s new AI-powered desktop app. I like the feeling of writing fast. It places me “at the moment,” giving me energy from adrenaline, focus, and momentum.
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Democracy