 Introduction to writing for magazines and websites - write like a journalist
Three day in-company training course (but can be tailored to suit specific needs)  "Great. Has opened my eyes to others ways to engage with the reader."
For anyone who wants to be able to produce accurate, professionally styled articles within a tight deadline.
Thinking about the readers - Who are they?
- What do they want from an article?
Understanding news - What is news?
- Looking for exceptions and threats
- How to use the classic triggers to spot news
- Finding the news angle in a “company” document
Doing it: Delegates will analyse news stories from a variety of publications
Doing it: Delegates will be asked to find news stories in sample “company” documents
Writing news stories or releases
- How can you arrange your information to make maximum impact?
- Selling your subject to the reader
- Using the pyramid
- The intro – choosing between the summary and the hook
- Planning – the key to success
- Getting the order right
Doing it: Delegates will write a news story based on “company” material
Writing for impact
- Choosing the right language for your audience
- Avoiding jargon
- Making difficult topics clear and interesting
- Giving your writing pace to make it readable
Doing it: Delegates will write a release based on “company” material
Writing features or longer articles
- What distinguishes a feature from a news story?
- What makes a good feature?
- What types of feature can you write?
Doing it: Delegates will analyse features from a variety of publications to see how the best writers engage with the reader
Focusing the interview and the feature for the publication
- Who are the readers?
- Why are you writing?
- What do they already know about the subject?
- What do they want to know about the subject?
- Coming up with a line of questioning
The interview
- The aims
- Controlling the interview
- A technique for every occasion
- Getting the most from every opportunity, however limited
- The writer as the reader’s mouthpiece
- Spotting likely problems
Questioning techniques
- Successful questioning
- Asking difficult questions
- Getting good quotes
- Drawing out interesting anecdotes
The mechanics
Avoiding classic pitfalls
- The closed question
- When to persist; when to take no for an answer
Handling problem interviewees
- Taking the interview where you want it to go
- The waffler
- The stonewaller
- The yes/no type
Doing it: Delegates will gather information for a feature from material provided by the “company” and from a face-to-face interview with a subject who has been primed to provide various challenges for the interviewer, as well as the information. We will create a scenario that involves “company” issues. The interview will be videoed and played back for analysis.
Delegates will use this interview to provide the information for the feature that they will write.
Planning for readability
- Finding the ‘big idea’ that will draw the reader in
- Choosing the points you want to make
- Determining the order
- Thinking about the end
Fitting the form to the idea
- How should the feature be structured?
- How many elements should there be, over how many pages?
Breaking up the copy to pull the reader in
- Creating boxes and sidebars
- Using graphics to good effect
- Lists and tables
Planning the look of the feature
- What will grab the reader's eye?
- Access points
- Visual elements
Doing it: Delegates will plan a two-page feature of about 500 words using the techniques explored
Building the feature – intros
- Grabbing the reader
- Varying your approach
- Choosing among the possible options:
- Straightforward
- Change
- Anecdotal
- Scene setter
- Surprise
- Question
- Quote
Doing it: Delegates will write one or two intros for the article they will write based on their interviews, explaining why they chose the types they did
Building the feature – links
- Keeping the reader reading
- Creating a logical flow
Building the feature – quotes
- Choosing quotes for impact
- Avoiding repetition
- Adding information
Doing it: Delegates will write the body of the article, using quotes for maximum impact and using links to keep readers reading
Making it readable
- Choosing the right language for the audience
- Working on pace
- Varying sentence length to keep readers reading
- Using active verbs to create lively copy
Finishing the feature
- Ending with a flourish
- Avoiding the ‘trail off’
- Choosing from the options: Quote / Full circle / Look to the future / Clever, clever
Doing it: Delegates will finish the feature, going back over their work to check for pace and tone
Analysis and discussion
Writing for the web
Specific demands of web writing:
- Length
- The 25/50 rule
- The 'skim' factor
- Links
Doing it: Delegates will revise their feature to make it suitable for the web
Rewriting copy
- What to look for in copy
- How to analyse copy quickly and effectively
- How to improve copy – a checklist
- How to decide what to change
- Handling jargon
- How to decide what to keep
- When is approval needed?
Doing it: Delegates will come up with a strategy to edit a piece of “company” material
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