Category Archives: News Writing

On Language Patrol: Avoid These Expressions

Posted on April 20, 2012 by

I’ve been keeping track again of stale language I’ve read in newspapers and magazines these past few weeks. Feature writers and columnists shouldn’t resort to using these hackneyed terms and phrases: 1) pork barrel 2) acid test 3) bone of … Continue reading →

Posted in Articles, Authors, Books, Column Writing, Columnists, Creativity, Essayists, Feature Writing, Freelancing, Informational Writing, Journalism, Journalists, Magazine Writers, News Writing, Newspaper Writers, Non-Fiction, Public Relations Writing, Publishing, Reading, Trade Publications, Writing, Writing Books | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Consider Your Future as a Successful Writer

Posted on April 13, 2012 by

Like any other goal in life, if you want to be a successful writer, you have to define where you are now and where you want to go. If you define your writing goals, you can achieve them. They must … Continue reading →

Posted in Authors, Autobiography, Books, Children's Books, Columnists, Creativity, Essayists, Feature Writing, Fiction, Freelancing, Informational Writing, Journalism, Journalists, Magazine Writers, News Writing, Newspaper Writers, Non-Fiction, Novelists, Poetry, Poets, Public Relations Writing, Publishing, Reading, Short Story Writers, Trade Publications, Writer's Block, Writing, Writing Books | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Writers of All Genres: Get Back to Basics and Get a Reality Check

Posted on April 8, 2012 by

No matter what genre we write in,  most of us struggle at certain points with motivating ourselves through writer’s block and the revision process. When we find ourselves languishing, often it’s time to start considering the basics again. Even an … Continue reading →

Posted in Articles, Authors, Autobiography, Books, Column Writing, Columnists, Creativity, Essayists, Feature Writing, Freelancing, Informational Writing, Journalism, Journalists, Magazine Writers, News Writing, Newspaper Writers, Non-Fiction, Publishing, Writer's Block, Writing, Writing Books | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Feature Writers: Avoid Stale Language

Posted on March 28, 2012 by

When writers resort to using stale expressions and words, that signals that they are getting lazy. Below are some stale expressions that I’ve run across in newspapers and magazines, that have no place in writing: 1) better half 2) better … Continue reading →

Posted in Articles, Authors, Beginners' Guide to Writing & Selling Quality Features, Column Writing, Columnists, Essayists, Feature Writing, Freelancing, Informational Writing, Journalism, Journalists, Magazine Writers, News Writing, Newspaper Writers, Non-Fiction, Public Relations Writing, Publishing, Trade Publications, Writing, Writing Books | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Feature Writers: Use This Checklist

Posted on March 16, 2012 by

Mark Twain often spoke of  writing in an unpretentious way,  simplicity of language, accuracy, and “naturalness.” These are points that should be uppermost in feature writers’ minds when they write for newspapers and magazines. Heed these key points about your … Continue reading →

Posted in Articles, Authors, Beginners' Guide to Writing & Selling Quality Features, Essayists, Feature Writing, Freelancing, Interview, Journalism, Journalists, Magazine Writers, Magazines, News Writing, Newspaper Writers, Newspapers, Non-Fiction, Publishing, Trade Publications, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Feature Articles: Learn How to Humanize Them

Posted on March 12, 2012 by

What do we mean when we say humanizing the feature article? That can mean two things: writing in a human interest style, and often, dealing with incongruity. Human interest means that which interests people. That could involve, writing about other … Continue reading →

Posted in Articles, Creativity, Feature Writing, Freelancing, Informational Writing, Journalism, Journalists, Magazine Writers, Magazines, News Writing, Newspaper Writers, Newspapers, Non-Fiction, Public Relations Writing, Publishing, Trade Publications, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Feature Writers: Engage Your Readers in Your Newspaper & Magazine Articles

Posted on January 17, 2012 by

With feature articles, keep these 10 points in mind to capture and hold the attention of your newspaper and magazine readers: 1) The “head,” the title of the article, is important. Does the head have an interesting or picturesque verb … Continue reading →

Posted in Articles, Feature Writing, Freelancing, Informational Writing, Interview, Journalism, Journalists, Magazine Writers, News Writing, Newspaper Writers, Publishing, Trade Publications, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

What Do You Read in Your Spare Time?

Posted on October 18, 2011 by

In my blogs, I often tell writers that if they want to get published in certain genres, they must do a lot of reading in that genre. Actually, regardless of the genre you want to write and get published in, … Continue reading →

Posted in Authors, Essayists, Feature Writing, Fiction, Haiku, Informational Writing, Japanese Style Poetry, News Writing, Non-Fiction, Novelists, Poetry, Poets, Reading, Short Story Writers | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

What Makes a Good Feature Article?

Posted on August 1, 2011 by

Feature articles are called feature “stories.” However, they are not fictional. This is just like a news article that is called a news story. Story is synonymous with article in journalism language. I interpret the word story in journalism as … Continue reading →

Posted in Articles, Feature Writing, Freelancing, Informational Writing, Interview, Journalism, News Writing, Publishing, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Freelancers: Be Popular With Editors

Posted on July 3, 2011 by

As freelancers, you must constantly build relationships with editors whether you write articles for general-interest newspapers and magazines, specialty newsletters, trade publications or public relations’ materials generated by companies, particularly Fortune 500 ones that produce many publications. If you effectively … Continue reading →

Posted in Articles, Authors, Feature Writing, Freelancing, Informational Writing, Journalism, News Writing, Public Relations Writing, Publishing, Trade Publications, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments