Writing: you never master the craft

Communication World, Oct-Nov, 1998 by Ken O'Quinn

Don Murray, a former editor at Time, a Pulitzer Prize winner and the author of 10 books on writing says that at age 73, he is still a young writer trying to learn his craft.

Ellen Goodman, a Pulitzer Prize winning columnist, also insists that no one is beyond improvement: "If you really care about the craft and the sound of something, and the use of metaphor, and a sentence that has balance, I'm not sure how easy that gets."

Yet, mention a writing seminar to many people in corporate communication and public relations and they often dismiss it as something "basic" that would be appropriate for junior people but certainly not for them. They assume that because they learned in PR 101 to write active sentences and to put the news at the top, and because they have been communicators for several years, they must be good writers. The sobering reality is that many professional communicators - including many 15-year veterans - do not write nearly as well as they should.

Professional communicators are in the business of storytelling, so they need to know how to deftly use techniques that capture and sustain a reader's interest. Compelling leads, vivid imagery, smooth transitions, substantive quotes, effective organization - these are elements of good writing that are missing from many articles and news releases. Their absence is a reason many employees don't find corporate publications interesting, and it is a major reason why journalists ignore many releases.

One reason is that most communicators (certainly not all, but most) have never had formal writing training. They did not write for a daily newspaper or a magazine, they were not editors for a publishing company, and they did not work under a good editor who consistently offered insightful suggestions and constructive criticism that the writer could take back to the keyboard the next day. Despite the lack of such experience, people can still become good writers but they must realize what it takes: a veritable love of the writing craft, an insistence on high standards, and a commitment to continual improvement.

Here are a few suggestions to make stories and releases more attractive:

Write strong leads

Most people know the importance of capturing interest quickly, but achieving that can be more difficult than it seems. Too many leads on releases and by-lined articles are ineffective, giving the reader no reason to read the second paragraph. "So what? Who cares?" the reader mumbles as she moves on to something more interesting. Most news releases, as with hard news stories, require a direct presentation of the news, uncluttered with vague words or secondary information. The news must be presented in a way that the reader can immediately see its relevance.

A feature lead, on the other hand, demands that you stir the reader's curiosity or rivet the reader's attention with unusual details. This indirect, or feature, lead is more difficult to write because there is no hard news to grab the reader; the writer must make it interesting or the reader is gone.

Select visual details

Details are the essence of good writing. When you write about a person, a product, or a service, search for the precise details that enable the reader to visualize your subject. Word pictures are what bring writing alive. Don't call someone a hard worker; give visual details that let the reader see the person working diligently.

Don't quote someone babbling

Quotes should capture an emotion or give the reader insight to the speaker's expertise. Too many quotes contain nothing but blather, or they are too wordy. "We identified a set of market segments that require the strengths and expertise that our company has to offer" is a wordy quote that should have been paraphrased to say, "The company identified industries that need its services." Strong quotes are concise and substantive.

Structure sentences for a purpose

In addition to a strong lead, good writing consists of sentences that are artfully crafted for variety, rhythm or emphasis. Balanced parallelism, word repetition, the careful use of subordination, sharp transitions between paragraphs - these are the subtleties of graceful fluid writing. These distinguish the good writer from the mediocre.

Write strong endings

The inverted pyramid format presents information in a descending order of importance, with the least important material at the end. But many by-lined articles fit a different structure and should have a strong ending. It should consist of a quote, a fact, a detail, a humorous remark, or an anecdote that will stick in the reader's mind. It should echo the lead so that the story comes full circle. Too many endings just dribble off the page because the writer is adrift and doesn't know enough to stop.

Improve your vocabulary

As a communicator, you must have a command of the language. It is rich with words that have power and imagery, and the deeper your inventory, the less inclined you are to reach for dull, stale words and phrases. Do crossword puzzles, and don't be afraid to develop a vocabulary list with definitions that you periodically review. You can keep a vocabulary notebook in the desk drawer, or you can create a computer file. Look up words that you see and hear when you like the way they are used or when you are curious if they were used correctly.