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Tips for Writing About Current Events
Current events can be a very hot topic to write about online. People are regularly searching for the news and updates happening around the world and as a skilled writer, you can be the person to bring that knowledge to them. However, it's important to know how to properly write about current events. In order to get your message across properly and smoothly, there are some tips you can follow.
Inverted Pyramid
The "inverted pyramid" is a style of writing most often used in news stories. When writing under this method, you put all of the most important facts at the start of your article and then flesh it out with the details in the remainder of the article. This is preferred for current events and news pieces and especially for the Internet where people tend to read by skimming. If you take too long to give them the info they seek, they will click on to another article that gets to the point more quickly.
Double Check Your Facts
There is no bigger writing flub you can make than to mess up the facts on a currents event piece. Always go to the original source of the reporting and check and double check your facts. Never write on rumors or repeat the reports of non-trusted sources. Whenever possible, you should be the direct source so there is no question about whether or not your facts are correct.
Keep it Timely
The term "current events" should explain it well enough but remember to keep your topics timely. Don't write about something from the past unless it can be linked directly to something current in a logical way. You should be writing about the here and now and if it happened several days ago, you can bet that plenty of other sources have covered it already. There is no point in covering old news unless you have something new and relevant to add to the story.
Avoid Bias
Unless you are writing a news commentary, there should be no bias in your report of the current events. For example, if you are writing on a Supreme Court ruling, you will state only the facts in the case, not your own opinions about what the judge determined in the case. People want to read about what happened and form their own opinions, not have the results clouded by your own opinions.
With these tips in mind, you can begin writing about the current events that interest you today. It's a great way to stay up to date on what's happening in your community while spreading the news to others through your writing.
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5 Great Content Ideas for Writing Articles
Articles are a great way to share your ideas and knowledge with others. They give you the opportunity to build your credibility and get readers interested in what you have to offer. However, most writers find themselves at a loss for ideas from time to time. It can be difficult to come up with fresh content ideas needed to write the articles you would like to share. After all, they need to be distinctive and stand out above the rest in order to get the recognition you are searching for. It's natural for writers to have difficulty coming up with new content occasionally. This is especially true if you are fairly new at writing articles or if you've been spending lots of time working on them. Anyone can get burned out or have writers block. When this happens, it's suggested that you take a nice long break and clear your head of all thoughts having to do with writing. Next, take a look around to see what's going on in the world and use the content ideas listed below. Before long, you'll be back on track and coming up with new article ideas in no time.
5 great content ideas for writing articles: Pay attention to your surroundings and look for something interesting to write about. Gather ideas from books, magazines and news stories. Use real life situations to come up with content. Write about topics you have experience in personally. Take a look at anything new that's happening around the world. Your goal is to write about things that will capture the attention of the readers and make them interested in what you have to say. Once you get their attention you have the opportunity to convince the reader that you have what they need.
The articles that you write will be a reflection of your credibility. When they are done correctly, the reader will see that the information you provide is valuable and something they can put to good use. This gets them interested, which makes them more likely to visit your site to see what else you have to offer. Over time, this can greatly increase your flow of traffic and improve sales.
The next time your mind draws a blank when you are trying to think of something to write about, think about the ideas listed above. There is always something interesting and exciting going on in the world. All you need to do is stop and take a look around. You should find yourself surrounded with great content ideas that you can easily write about.
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ABCs of Fiction Writing - Dialogue: Who Said What?
Dialogue can be one of the most difficult parts of writing fiction, and a sure sign of an amateur writer is dialogue that is not properly punctuated. Punctuation can be the most confusing part about writing dialogue (and we'll be dealing with US standards in this article), but writing believable dialogue is the most challenging. When you have multiple characters in a story, a unique voice must be developed for each one as well, or else the dialogue is boring and repetitive.
Punctuation and Dialogue Tags
No matter how good your actual dialogue may be, it is going to be unreadable if it is not properly punctuated or tagged. Punctuation and tags offer the clues that the reader needs to be able to 'hear' the conversation that is happening. Since the scene is happening in the reader's imagination, it must be described in such a way that they can properly ascertain who is saying what.
Reading a story that does not have proper punctuation or tags would be like listening to a conversation that was spoken by the same voice, entirely in monotone, without pauses for breath between words or sentences or speakers. It would be incredibly confusing.
If someone is speaking out loud, use quotation marks ( " ") at the beginning and end. Not single quotation marks/apostrophes.
If someone is thinking, and you are writing their actual thoughts, use italics without quotation marks. Italics can also signify emphasis within spoken dialogue. Italics are also helpful for differentiating between flashbacks and present tense, but we'll deal more that in a later article.
When a different character speaks, the dialogue should begin on a new line (see the example in the action tag section).
Dialogue tags denote who is speaking and/or thinking. Examples are: John spoke, she said/he said, Sally shouted, his wife asked, etc. Write your tag carefully, don't detract from the dialogue. It is only meant to signify who is saying what, and other than that should be invisible. Readers will notice, though, if you're only using 'he said/she said' for your dialogue tags, so find other ways to clue them in to who is speaking. You might insert a dialogue tag at a point where the character might pause as they are speaking.
The basics of punctuating dialogue are the same whether it is thoughts or spoken words, you simply place the entire 'thought' in italics (except for the tag), without quotation marks.
Periods, commas, question marks, exclamation points, etc. are contained inside the quotation marks - "That hurt!"
Always use commas when you break up a line of dialogue with a tag - "Honey," John spoke, "I have to work late every night this week." (Note the comma at the end of the broken dialogue 'honey', and the comma at the end of the tag 'John spoke'. Both commas need to be there.)
Use single quotation marks for quoting within dialogue - "He said and I quote, 'you're a miserable excuse for a human being'! Can you believe it?" Also note the exclamation point is outside of the quote, because it refers to the voice of the character talking, not the one being quoted.
Action Tags/Beats
Beyond the basic dialogue tag, you can use action tags (also called beats) to make dialogue flow. This is when, rather than using 'he said/she said', you use action to denote who is speaking.
Example (from my 2010 NaNoWriMo* Novel): "I miss her, especially today," she welcomed his embrace. "I know, I do too," he pressed a kiss to her forehead, "She would be very proud of you, just as I am." "Thank you," Isabel smiled. "It is so hard to believe that sixteen years ago today," her father's mouth twitched at the corners, and Isabel wasn't sure if he was going to smile or weep, "I held you in my arms for the first time. You were so very small. So very frail . . ."
Action tags can be used to convey emotion and scenery, but the tags must always go along with the dialogue of the corresponding character. Also note, as mentioned above, how each new line of dialogue is on a separate line. Otherwise, it would read like this and be confusing:
"I miss her, especially today," she welcomed his embrace. "I know, I do too," he pressed a kiss to her forehead, "She would be very proud of you, just as I am." "Thank you," Isabel smiled. "It is so hard to believe that sixteen years ago today," her father's mouth twitched at the corners, and Isabel wasn't sure if he was going to smile or weep, "I held you in my arms for the first time. You were so very small. So very frail . . ."
It's not impossible to follow but it looks much neater and is easier to tell who is speaking when it is on separate lines.
Indirect Dialogue
Indirect dialogue is summarizing dialogue rather than writing out what the character has said. If the dialogue example from above were to be written as indirect dialogue, it might read like this:
Isabel mentioned how much she missed her mother as she welcomed his embrace. Her father agreed, but her mother would be proud of her. Isabel thanked him as she smiled, and her father began to reminisce about her birth sixteen years before, and the first time he held her. She had been so small and frail . . .
This can be used if you need to get through a lot of dialogue very quickly, but it is not as personal or emotional as the original dialogue was. Don't use this as your main style of writing dialogue, but do know that it exists and can be used for certain purposes. You want to still use some of the words that character would be using if they were speaking out loud, but is a summary, so you don't write word for word what they would have said. Absolutely do not use it for pivotal scenes where you need the emotional impact of what is happening, you'll only the damage the plot.
Voice
The voice of each character must be unique. Just as each person around you has a certain way of saying things, your characters must as well. Avoid writing in accents. Simply mentioning the nationality of a character should be enough, or if they have a lisp, etc. Nobody enjoys reading a story where the dialogue has been written in the literal pronunciation of words/letters.
The best way to do voice is to listen to the people around you and see if you can recognize their speech patterns. Perhaps someone likes to use sarcasm, or they are always very thoughtful in what they say. Listen to people around you everywhere you go (in addition to being people-watchers, writers must also be eavesdroppers), and see if you can pick out speech patterns. Practice by attempting to imitate the speech of the people in your life - a spouse, sibling, parent, close friends.
Punctuation marks also help, use them for their purpose. Exclamation marks (but never more than one) can show excitement, anger, etc. Ellipses ( . . . ) can indicated a pause for thought. Hyphens should be used when a word is started but interrupted; the interruption can be a cough, or made by another character.
Do not continuously use dialogue tags to convey tone, set the tone of the conversation through the scene as well by showing what is happening with the characters. Writing emotion is an important part of this as well, which will be dealt with in the next article.
*National Novel Writing Month
Sources: Punctuation Dialogue: How to Punctuate Dialogue Correctly by Ginny Wiehardt Writing Dialogue: The Music of Speech by Donna Ippolito Writing Fiction for Dummies by Randy Ingermanson and Peter Economy Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft, Seventh Edition by Janet Burroway and Elizabeth Stuckey-French
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League of Women Voters of Palo Alto Sponsor Essay Contest
High school juniors in the Palo Alto Unified School District are invited to submit an essay for a contest being held by the League of Women Voters of Palo Alto. The topic is "The Limits of Freedom" and the essays should center around the balance between "individual freedom and the needs of society, as it affects one or more contemporary political issues."1 First prize will win $500 and Second prize gets $300. The essays need to be between 600 and 800 words and are due by November 10. Finished essays should be sent to the League at [email protected]. Submissions need to be double-spaced and either attached to the email as a PDF or included inside the email as text.
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