27 Dec 09 Online News Writing Framework

Writing news is different from writing an article, or writing a story, as the goal and readers of the news is also different (at least have a different mindset). Unlike a story, you do not need to build up your news till it climaxes in the last paragraph, and you are not also supposed to supply logic to prove a point the way you need to do with an article.

To keep things simple for you, I am providing here a news writing framework that will help you craft a piece of interesting to read news. This framework will help you make the news interesting to read. Fill the details in the following boxes and then just interweave them to give it the shape of a piece of news.

Tags: Boxes, Climaxes, Interesting News, Logic, Mindset, News Writing, Online News, Online Writing, Paragraph, Shape, Writing Help, Writing News

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09 Nov 09 The Process of Writing

Writing is an art. There is no denial about that. No one can contest this fact, but there is some pattern to it. There is a particular way in which we approach writing, and that gives writing a being-a-science feel. The idea part of the writing is creative, but the process of writing is scientific. In this article, we will see the scientific part of the writing, i.e., process of writing.

Stages of writing

The process of writing can be divided into three stages. These are:

Pre-writing
Writing
Editing and Proofreading

Let’s discuss each one of them in brief.

Pre-writing

Pre-writing is the phase in which we ideate about what we have to write. We prepare a structured layout of the piece we have to write. In this stage, we accomplish the following things:

We find the topic to write on.
We research the topic.
Read some articles on the topic.
We brainstorm and jot down in bullet points the things that should go in writing..
Prepare a layout of which point will go where. It is in the pre-writing stage that most of the writing happens.

Writing

This is the phase in which you give shape to the ideas generated in the pre-writing phase. In this phase, concentrate on the writing only, do not go for editing or anything like that. Write through the end without worrying about the errors in this phase.

Editing and proofreading

This is the phase in which we give final touch to our written piece. We make the changes if required, proofread it for grammatical, structure and punctuation errors. You can also shift sentences or paragraphs up and down to make the article more cohesive.

Any writing, no matter what you are writing, follows these steps. Some writer follow these steps intuitively, i.e., in their minds, while other have to use paper and pen to go through these.

Tags: Bullet Points, Creative Process, Creative Writing, Denial, Grammatical Structure, Jot, Paper And Pen, Paragraphs, Process Writing, Proofreading, Punctuation Errors, Research Topic, Science, Scientific Writing, Sentences, Shape, Writing Process

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30 Oct 09 How to Build a List of Writing Prompts

In the last blog post, I discussed about what is writing prompt and how to use it. I hope that discussion gave you some confidence to fight with the big monster we call writer’s block. In this post, I will tell you how to build a list of writing prompts to help you in time of need. Yes, I know I told you yesterday that anything can work as writing prompt as long as it helps you get out of “staring at blank page” syndrome. And I am also aware that you cannot include every kind of writing prompt in your list. Nevertheless, a list with writing prompt will help you a great deal when confronting the monster. That is why you need to build a list of writing prompts.

4 ways to build the writing prompt list

Know yourself. Ask questions about your religious beliefs, your political opinion, your view of your community, and your stance on the social and economic issues confronting your community. Ask questions about your views on your community, culture, government’s policy, medical policy, etc. The idea behind this exercise is to look inside yourself and find what you are and what you believe in.
See the world around you. A good writer is one who observes his surroundings. One who remains absorbed in oneself all the time can be anything but a writer. See how people around you interact, how they react in certain condition. What are their inhibitions, what they are afraid of doing, how strongly they cling to their belief, and what makes them stay together.
Notice the nature. Have you seen that little green-colored insect that stays on the flower? Have you seen what the shape of the cloud was today? The point is to get close to nature and observe its beauty. It has motivated many and will not fail to motivate you as well.
Take to people. Ask as many questions as you want. Get as close to people near you as you can. Know about them. Ask about their daily life, their fears, their hopes, their dreams, their ambitions, their aspirations, etc., and you will get enough material to write upon.

There are many more things that can help you build your own list, but the things that I have talked about here will help you regardless of the genre you write in.

Tags: Ambitions, Aspirations, Belief, Close To Nature, Community Culture, Confidence, Dreams, Economic Issues, Exercise, Fears, Flower, Inhibitions, Insect, Medical Policy, Monster, People, Religious Beliefs, Shape, Surroundings, Time Of Need

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27 Dec 09 Online News Writing Framework

09 Nov 09 The Process of Writing

Stages of writing

Pre-writing

Writing

Editing and proofreading

30 Oct 09 How to Build a List of Writing Prompts

4 ways to build the writing prompt list

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