Tips for the beginning enthusiast

Columns and Blogs

Martin Hirsthttp://ethicalmartini.wordpress.com

Te Waha Nui / CityBeat http://artsweb/Louise_dev/devWP

Never be boring

In all cases there is one cardinal sin; being boring.The columnist must have something to say and appealing style that captures the reader and demands a reaction…Everyone has one column, maybe six, in them. But column writing week in and week out, let alone at more regular intervals, is demanding professional work.

[Al Morison, Intro, p. 309]

The purpose and the pointWhat is the purpose of a column or blog?

To convey the writer’s opinionTo offer a fresh perspective on the news

of the dayTo argue a point and convince readersTo challenge accepted wisdomTo amuse and/or entertain

the readerTo validate the writer’s

point of viewTo validate the reader’s

point of view

It’s OK to have an opinionColumns are short items,

sometimes produced on a regular basis – in the same place and style each edition

A column moves beyond the ‘mere facts’ to include ‘well-researched, informed comment’ [Intro]

Acknowledge your own views, justify and contrast your opinion with that of others

The obligatory Orwell slideI write it because there is some lie that I want to expose, some fact to which I want to draw attention, and my initial concern is to get a hearing. But I could not do the work of writing a book, or even a long magazine article, if it were not also an aesthetic experience. …. So long as I remain alive and well I shall continue to feel strongly about prose style, to love the surface of the earth, and to take a pleasure in solid objects and scraps of useless information.

George Orwell, Why I Write, 1946

Write about what you know

A column or blog has to be believable

A good opinion pieceis based on relevant factsDo your homework

Have a point of view

Choosing a topicA column or blog can

be about practically anything

Select something that you are knowledgeable about,or willing to learn about

If you have a passion or special interest – how can you make it relevant and exciting

Establish your personality early on

Pick something that’sfun for you CraftJuice – Nerida K

Find your voiceStyle and tone are

importantIs the style suited to

the topicIs the tone of the

piece appropriate to the subject matter

Are you able to make yourself clearly understood

Can you find an original, clean voice

I dropped Maria off in front of the tattoo parlor just before midnight. There was no place to park on the street, so I sent her inside and found a place on the sidewalk, in front of a house with no lights.Why not? I figured. Black car, dark sidewalk, nothing but cranked Chinese teenagers on the street…and we did, in fact, need the story.The week had been too long and fast for wise and considered reflection. I had lectured for something like 166 straight hours on morals and manners and politics, in addition to drugs and violence. I had been awake for too long.

‘Saturday Night in The City’,Generation of Swine, HST

Types of columnsOpinion piece: a regular spot in

the publication for commentaries on the issues of the day

The journalistic column: the accent is on news and analysis, colour, background and context

Personal: viewpoints and opinions that don’t always or necessarily relate to news or topics of the day

Gossip: amusing insights about public figures, or snippets from the social diary

Opinion columnExpert commentary

from non-journalistsSlightly off-beat take

on a topicPeace activists

charged, but freed by a jury after damaging some computers in a protest at Raytehon’s plant in Ireland

Kicker finish…

The outcome was so remarkable, you almost dare to imagine a day when Blair and Bush are in a cell with Karadzic, arguing about whose turn it is to slop out.But mostly, I wonder if, when the computers hit the ground, they flickered, “You have performed an illegal operation”.

Mark Steel, W/H 26-07-08, p.21

Journalistic columnTypically weeklyOften about key

issues of the daySenior reporterMakes a point about

actions of central figure in the news

Less formal style than news

Establishes reporter’s credibility over time

Winston Peters has to be brought to his senses. So the Prime Minister has been holding the smelling salts under his nose. Judging from yesterday’s angry press conference, they are taking some time to work.

If he has to go, he will have to go. On yesterday’s evidence, he will not go quietly. But there are no surprises in that.

Personal columnPersonal columns have

a wide range of topicsWine, food, family,

children, sport, film, theatre, television

Review-style columns are common

Rely on a particular “device” for effect

Often attempt to be humorous

How do you write a column?The million dollar questionStart with an idea – a point you want to makeOutline a structure – develop a plan

Which bit of the story will you start with?Do you want to make a dramatic entranceCan you capture the reader with humour or shock-value

Know where you want to go – define your end pointThe conclusion is as important as the lead

Remember it’s not the inverted pyramidHour-glass structure or more narrative style is acceptable

Use lively and entertaining language – but use it well

Practice makes perfectRegular writing exercises improve both thinking

capacity and eye-hand coordinationWriting often helps sharpen your focus and

establish your voice or point-of-viewStart with things your know aboutRead widely and oftenRead good writers, analyse their style and

structural tricksDevelop an interest or speciality based on your

own passionsBuild your expertiseExperiment with different styles on the same piece

StructureLead – unlike a news story, a column

lead can be delayed or less formalTell the reader what it’s aboutBackground / justification

for your pointTake the reader someplace elseExplain / present your new

information and insightsExpand on detailComplete the circleFinish with a twist

Top of hourglassLead – unlike a

news story, a columnlead can be delayed or less formal

Tell the reader what it’s about

As I wash dishes at the kitchen sink, my husband paces behind me irritated. “Have you seen my keys?” he snarls, then huffs a loud sigh and stomps from the room with our dog Dixie, at his heels, anxious over her favourite human’s upset.

Now, I focus on the wet dish in my hands, I don’t turn around. I don’t say a word I’m using a technique I learned from a dolphin trainer

Middle - variableBackground /

justificationfor your point

Explain / present your newinformation and insights

Take the reader someplace else

These minor annoyances are not the stuff of separation and divorce, but in sum they began to dull my love for Scott

So, like many wives before me, I ignored a library of advice books and set about improving him….

Then something magical happened.

Expand into bottomExplain / present

your new information and insights

Expand on detail

I listened, rapt, as professional trainers explained how they taught dolphins to flip and elephants to paint. Eventually it hit me that the same techniques might work on that stubborn but loveable species, the American husband.

The central lesson I learned from exotic animal trainers is that I should reward behavior I like and ignore behavior I don’t. After all, you don’t get a sea lion to balance a ball on the end of its nose by nagging. The same goes for the American husband.

The big finishComplete the

circle

Finish with a twist

Back in Maine, I began thanking Scott if he threw one dirty shirt into the hamper…I was using what trainers call “approximations”, rewarding the small steps to learning a whole new behavior.

One morning, as I launched into yet another tirade…Scott just looked at me blankly…He finally smiled, but his L.R.S. had already done the trick. He’d begun to train me, the American wife.

Column or blog post?Column

Usually appears in regular spot at regular intervals

Develops a style based on chosen persona of columnist

Should fit demographic and reading habits of audience

Has a clear purpose

Blog postMore irregularHas strong

individual style, usually written in first-person

Is open to a wider and more diverse audience

Has a purpose and a point

Less fixed in time and space

Stoltz’ five top tips for newbieloggers

1. A personal blog is as valuable to the writer as the reader

2. Entry titles are as important as content. Titles should be dead-clear

3. Don’t expect your best content to be rewarded. Accept that blog audiences are so unpredictable and that some of your most valuable gems will stay buried

4. Stand on the roof in a thunderstorm holding up a rake. You never know when lightning will strike, but you can improve your odds

5. Write short and use picturesWeb 2.Oh…really [Craig Stoltz]

What the blogger gets out of it

A near-daily obligation to write forces you to learn something new or create an insight about something you already know

Writing a blog lets you educate yourself in public

Writing demands discipline – regular updates creates good work habits

Your writing gets betterMore posts = more traffic

Tip No. 1 cannot be emphasized enough among journalists and journalism students. Writing a blog will make you better at everything related to being a good journalist. Word. You will become a better writer, researcher, investigator, skeptic, listener, communicator — and editor. You will also become better at everything concerning the Web, if you really apply yourself to blogging. I speak from personal experience on this.

Teaching online journalism [Mindy McAdams]

Make your headlines “dead clear”

Web users are brutally impatient prowlers, unforgiving of ambiguity and unlikely to hang around to figure things out. But provocative works too. Fear and loathing in SkyCityA fool and his moneyWas Tony Veitch being blackmailed?

Short, snappy headlines that are also “teasers” tend to work best

Make your meta-tags work for youLive up to your promise (deliver the content!)

Tip No. 2 has a direct relationship to No. 3, and I think we could learn something from Stolz’s own post. His post title: “Five Lessons from a Year of Blogging.” My title for this post: “5 tips for blog beginners.” Now, think about a person typing search terms into Google. Lessons and blogging? Or tips and blog? Your choice of keywords in the post title is of paramount importance to the findability of the post itself. Every word counts. The title also needs to be short — five or six words is an ideal length.

Mindy McAdams

Realistic expectationsTraffic grows slowly at firstBe patient and regularThe more entries you have, the more likely you

are to get random trafficVisit blogs with similar content, or a post that

you like and leave a comment. This links back to your own site and can generate traffic

Don’t be disheartened if it takes a while to take off

Blog on current events – have something to saySub-edit and correct your work

Attract lightningIf you’re “on topic” and current – and relevant – you will be noticed

Blog traffic usually grows by word-of-mouth

Start your own blogroll, but don’t link to the usual suspects

The major blog sites already get enough traffic, fish in the smaller ponds at first

Write short, use pictures

The obvious advice:Intros should be catchy and have a good hookKeep paragraphs short – use space between parsIllustrate your story – where possible use original

pics taken on your cellphone or digital cameraIf you can use video – shoot your own and load it

to YouTube and link backThink about how you embed links and other

mediaUse the “read more” tool effectively – don’t crowd

your front page with long posts

Have fun, don’t be boringConfidence comes with

experienceTry new thingsEveryone can be funnyDevelop a “love-hate” relationship

with your writingSharpen your observation skillsWrite a 300 word opinion piece

every dayStart a blog with friendsRead magazines in print and

online