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The Writer's Notebook

Join the Scrooge School of Writing: be mean with words

22/8/2015

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Like most journalists, I belong to the Scrooge School of Writing. Words are my currency and I don’t believe in spending them recklessly. I use just as many as I need to make a point and not a single word more. It’s called the KISS principle – Keep It Short and Simple – and it should be tattooed on the forehead of every would-be writer.

Sadly, it isn’t.

Instead, wannabes labour under the delusion, fostered by their English Literature teachers, that the WIG theory – Wordy Is Good – holds the key to good writing.

No, it doesn’t!

Writing short and writing simple means the writer does all the hard work and the reader can wallow in the luxury of active, clear, snappy sentences that are easy  to digest and don’t give them heartburn.

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Work those writing muscles

22/8/2015

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“Writing is like a muscle, it will be a lot stronger if you exercise it every day.” (Randall 2000: 141)
I have a love-hate relationship with my personal trainer, Melissa. She’s funny and fun and, in different circumstances, very good company. But every time we meet I’m checking my watch to see how soon we can say our goodbyes. Which begs the question – why pay good money, workout after workout, to be put through hell?

Simple: I want the female equivalent of a six-pack – which may be an unrealistic goal but there’s no harm trying.

Besides, exercising regularly helps my asthma and, in some weird masochistic way, there’s a lot of pleasure to

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Three simple rules

22/8/2015

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All good writers follow three simple rules. They have something to say and they say it well.

And once they’ve said it, they shut up.

Of course, if it was that simple, we’d all have given up the day jobs and would be living the high life on the proceeds of our writing. But it isn’t and, we’re not, so, over the next couple of posts I’ll examine those rules in a little more detail.

Let’s start, though, with rule one: have something to say.

For the news reporter, writing a straightforward news story means having something new or interesting to tell readers that they [the reader] didn’t know before.

And if, you, the news journalist haven’t got anything new to say – find something else to write about that is new and, therefore, interesting.

It’s a little less straightforward for the feature writer, who, in most cases, will be writing about a person, place or issue already in the news. Here their role is to tell the story behind the story. Where a news journalist goes in and

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    Author
    Hello: I’m a writer and journalist, now teaching magazine and news reporting at Sheffield Hallam University. I learned my trade on a series of great regional newspapers in the north of England where all my editors drummed into me the importance of clear, concise and direct writing. These are skills I have been proud to practise – and now to hand on to others.

    Together with my friend Susan Pape, I have published two very successful books on news and feature writing: Newspaper Journalist: A Practical Introduction and Feature Writing: A Practical Introduction.

    Now we’re working on our first novel, provisionally titled Watching Friends Fall, which we’re hoping to publish this autumn.

    All good writing, whether it’s journalism or blogging or novel writing, is about good content, good use of language and suiting the structure to the needs and expectations of the audience.

    Follow my posts and I’ll pass on the secrets of writing like a professional.

    Happy writing.


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