Well, he made a clanger of a cliché and his biggest mistake writing that he had 'writers block' (which he obviously didn't as he made a song out of it), as writers block is a myth according to Al Horner, deputy editor of NME.com who was our guest speaker today.
Al was speaking as one of us. We listened intently to his every word as a successful editor, who a mere four years ago was in our position as a student at Journalist Works.
He advised us on top tips and gave us examples of how we could improve our writing.
The most important point that I took away from the discussion was to be confident, we ARE journalists. Oh, and of course- writers block is a myth.
Below are the most useful points from the talk that I believe will help me in becoming the best journalist that I can be:
* Find conflict. Challenge the person that you are interviewing.
* Ask the difficult questions first and get stuck in, then ask your other questions.
* Look at your interviewees background, is there something relevant that is happening right now that you can ask them that they can relate to?
* There is politics in everything. Use your subject to paint a broader picture of what is going on in the UK. Try and tap into something bigger.
* Make your intro as compelling as you can, it has to be something that you start reading and can't put down, create intrigue.
* Have faith in your ability as a writer, there is no time for insecurities, you need to hit the ground running.
* Journalism is a confidence game.
* When you think you have finished your piece, read it back and imagine you are reading it to a mate down the pub. -Note that this may not apply to all writing but it is useful to think about in feature writing.
* The best writing is loose, conversational, fun and interesting. (Again, bear in mind who you are writing for, it may not be appropriate in all instances.)
* Go against the grain, write a piece from an angle that the readers may not have thought of before.
* Be brave enough to be unpopular and don't waste time worrying about nasty comments, you literally don't have time for that.
* Care about what your editor, peers and self think about writing the right piece.
* Read everything and anything. Read things from outside of your discipline to find a new angle on a story.
* Don't pitch topics, pitch your story. What is the story? Why are you writing the story? Who are you going to talk to? What steps are you going to take to get the best story?
* Write, write, write. Find websites that you think you could write a piece for and pitch to them stating you will do it for free. (They say nothing comes for free in this life, but you may just get your name out there and who knows where that could lead?)
and lastly
* Writers block is a myth. Just get on with it, look at the above points and get cracking.
Al left me feeling enthused and excited about writing my next feature. My first assignment that I have set myself is to get an interview with Eminem, as I need to inform him that writers block is not a real thing and it is incredibly important that I get this message across to him and all other writers.
I am a journalist, I can do this!
(The above picture is of Eminem, not Al Horner, as I was so eager writing down everything he said (with some shorthand too, I was utilising all of my skills), that I didn't actually get a picture of him. I have slapped myself on the wrist for being a bad journalist, it won't happen again!
That is a promise to any of my tutors that may be reading this!
(The above picture is of Eminem, not Al Horner, as I was so eager writing down everything he said (with some shorthand too, I was utilising all of my skills), that I didn't actually get a picture of him. I have slapped myself on the wrist for being a bad journalist, it won't happen again!
That is a promise to any of my tutors that may be reading this!
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