Journalists stay focused on the classic "who, what, when, where and why" questions when developing stories. That's a smart approach for any type of writing. From blogging to thrillers and romance to science fiction, the writer needs to know the answers to those journalistic questions. Face it, if you don't know then how will the reader know what's happening.
Here's a technique I teach to my graduate students who have to boil down a complex paper into an abstract: think TV promo listing. What is the essence of your story?
Now expand this to a news story or book review. How would you give a short, concise and factual account of this work? Now you see where the "who, what, when, where and why" questions are valuable to consider as you develop the writing product.
No comments:
Post a Comment