Thanks to all those who attended our Sept. 19 meeting featuring author, writing coach and former Dallas Morning News editor Paula LaRocque. It was informative and I've already started using her tips to improve my writing.
We have photos to come from the event including our regional award winners in the Azbees for a future post, but for now, here are some of the highlights listed from LaRocque's presentation.
*Make your text clear. Readers don't want to study and dissect the sentence to understand it.
*Ditch your concept of formal writing. Write as you speak, when you speak well, she encouraged.
*The unsellable is unreadable. Read your work aloud and note the language and flow. Does it read well? Simple subject, verb, object sentences are understandable. She also cautioned against long sentences. Using active voice was another tip.
*Another common mistake made is trying to impress instead of communicate.
LaRocque gave an example of simple versus too long:
Jimmy just hit me.
or
Following an altercation in the sandbox, Jimmy hit me.
Some of LaRocque's guidelines for better writing:
*If telling a story, begin as you would tell the story to a friend.
*Use a road map with a beginning, middle and end. Write quickly without interruptions. If you edit as you write, you lose the spontaneity and your good ideas.
*Write your piece before you have to write it. She admonished (gently) journalists as procrastinators and characterized writing best on deadline as an excuse.
*She recommended building time into your assignment to write and then leave the story alone. Then, return to it with your editor's hat on.
*Edit first for wordiness, which gets in the way. Once you make it tighter, then read it aloud and send it to the editor after that.
She added the following tips:
*Keep sentences short.
*Have an average sentence length of 25 words or less.
*Have variety of lengths for your sentences.
*Keep one idea per sentence.
*Try not to back-end your sentences. Avoid using words like 'amid' at the beginning of a sentence, for example.
*Avoid pretentions.
*Change long difficult words to simple ones with the same meaning.
*Prune your sentences and try to use single syllable words, when possible.
*Make sure your words are accurate. The word is lectern, not podium; check to see if you should use gauntlet or gantlet; comprise of is wrong - compose of is right.
*Adding words can make sentences less interesting. For instance:
made an effort - we tried
they made a decision - they decided
she gave a report on the results of the study - She reported on the study.
on a regular basis - regularly
*Avoid redundancy: sum total, potential promise, blue in color, tall in height
*Watch vague qualifiers: totally, really, very, quite, somewhat, rather
She named several authors and books as suggested reading to understand some of her tips on being concise, being clear and using simple sentence structures. "A Perfect Storm" was one example of making a topic perfectly clear, which makes it perfectly interesting. Authoer P.D. James' "The Lighthouse" was another suggested read because of the beauty of the writing. Stephen Ambrose was another author she mentioned.
Don't forget our upcoming meeting:
What: Headline Writing with writing coach and author Paul LaRocque, who retired as student publications director at Texas Christian University, where he also taught reporting
When: Wed. Nov. 14, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Where: Southern Recipes Grill, 2715 N. Collins Street in Arlington. Restaurant phone number: 817-469-9878
Cost: $20 for ASBPE members, $25 for non-members. Price includes discussion and lunch - cash payment preferred
RSVP: Tonie Auer, 817-925-2013 or tonieauer@gmail.com
Where: Southern Recipes Grill, 2715 N. Collins Street in Arlington. Restaurant phone number: 817-469-9878
Cost: $20 for ASBPE members, $25 for non-members. Price includes discussion and lunch - cash payment preferred
RSVP: Tonie Auer, 817-925-2013 or tonieauer@gmail.com
