the craft. applicable lessons from journalism.
Notes from a J-school dropout. | 12.7.20
I finished school. Just not as a journalism major. But I certainly believe in this idea that every single part of your life is preparation for the next and so, I’m actually very thankful for the year and a half that I did study journalism. It clearly wasn’t all bad.
Even though I knew I had no desire to work in a newsroom, I still learned important skills that translate into all the writing that I do today. I often encourage writers not to be afraid of writing in different styles. I even did a few stints in poetry, and would never in this lifetime consider myself a poet. But reading poetry is such a great inspiration for writing fiction for me.
Either way, this week, I wanted to share with you a few lessons I took with me.
Writing powerful ledes or other writing introductions. I was always taught you only have that first moment to grab the reader as a journalist. So even in writing fiction or short stories, I want to write intros that make it a no brainer to keep reading. Pull them in, start with action or some big idea. Making sure your opening is actually where the story begins and not wandering around until you get there.
Being concise. I like to call this skimming the fat. This doesn’t mean that I write the most succinct pieces all the time. But it’s all in the editing. One of my biggest issues is using filler words like just, really, definitely. All things that add to the word count but honestly don’t tell us anything or move a story forward. Often when we use words like just we mean something different anyway. Simply, only, the list goes in. When I was in journalism classes it was about getting to the point, which brings me to my next item.
Applying the who, what, where, when, and how. When sticking to this, it helps you not to add ominous ideas and words that don’t mean anything. Whether I’m blogging or freelancing, I do my best to lay these items out as clearly as possible.
Correct attribution. If we got a name wrong, we failed the project. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. It felt extremely harsh at the time, but I’ll tell you what? I checked and double-checked names before turning in papers. I still check and double-check names now. It’s important to go those extra lengths. Not saying you won’t have moments, but that fear of failing remains with me and I do my best to get the facts straight.
Conducting interviews. I was able to get a lot more comfortable talking with people. The reality is, most people enjoy talking about themselves. My job as a journalist was to make them as comfortable as possible. To make it feel like a conversation so that I could get the best out of it vs. some stiff question and answer. The research was also an important part of this process and I use research in every part of my writing. Again, whether it’s a blog, article, even working on my debut novel takes research to get things as accurate as possible.
Observation and notetaking. This is a vital piece of being a writer. Period. So although this was useful in conducting interviews and writing articles, it’s literally part of the reason I rarely experience writer’s block. If you’re paying attention at all times and taking notes, you won’t be short on ideas.
I would be remiss not to shout out my time working on pieces for JUMP Magazine as well. That experience really helped me hone in on a lot of these writing skills as well. So, word to George Miller and Temple University as well.
I hope these few items help!
Writing/Job Opportunities
The Washington Post is looking for an experienced TV Critic.
Kiplinger is looking for a Digital Editor.
Forbes is looking for a Breaking News Reporter.
Jerry.ai is hiring a Content Editor.
Fix is looking for a Managing Editor.
People.com is hiring a Content Editor.
FounditonAmazon is hiring a Content Editor.
GZero is looking for a Senior Writer/Producer
The Gumbo is accepting pitches for their January Theme: Jersey.
Nieman Reports is looking for Senior Editor.
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