Writer seeks attention (or What matters to your reader?) by Elaine Langford
As writers, we’d all like to think our readers hang on our every
word. In fact, we often have to work hard to get their attention. This is particularly
true for news stories which are the chip paper of the future. Though health and
safety may interfere with that cliché.
After writing for the Christian Writer magazine, I was reminded that we’ve all got skills and knowledge from our past that we can use in our writing, and not always in the ways we’d expect. Last month I covered how to make your writing more visible for Search Engines, using my limited website design experience. In this post, I’ll expand on tips gained when writing news articles and press releases as a freelance writer. Even if you’re more into writing fiction, these tips may be useful for your next author event or to promote a new book, poets may want to highlight an appearance at an Open Mic event. It may be a useful angle for a short story or a plot line. If your writing is more Bible-based then maybe try writing up a Bible story as a news story.
First an exercise. Find a newspaper or magazine and scan quicky through it. If you don’t want to buy one, pop into your local library. If paper isn’t your thing, check out a news website online with lots of articles on the same page or listen to some news bulletins using BBC Sounds.
Which stories caught your attention? How does the article or news item make you feel?
How do these reactions compare to ones you
overlooked?
Magazines and newspapers want you to pick them up, online news and social media posts want you to stop scrolling and stay on their page. The way they do that is make sure you connect with the content. This can be due an intriguing headline, the subject of the article or because it’s happening/happened locally to you. Which did it for you? As with most writing, the key is to get people to care enough about an event or story to read it.
Human interest is one key element. We generally care more about what happens to other people than corporations. Hence great characters make great novels. People raising money for good causes interest us as we like to hear positive news out of difficult experiences. We like local news. If you used a local or regional paper or new bulletin, did you spot any local news story that also appeared in a national paper or bulletin? Each will present the location of the event slightly differently, based on their target audience area. You can see this on national news reporting where a big event overseas will focus on anyone involved that is from the UK.
Journalism loves a superlative. I’d be surprised if the exercise above didn’t flag up at least one report about someone being the first, last, oldest, youngest, biggest or smallest to do something. There’s usually a way to bring that in by adding a personal characteristic, eg first male nurse, fastest under 18. Cute and cuddly works well too. Even on national news, there’s often the ‘...and finally...’ item which is usually more light-hearted and loves to feature small children or an animal.
The first four, cover the facts: What is/was the event and when is/was
it?
Where will/did it take place?
Who is holding the event and Who
is being targeted to attend?
It’s not enough to have all the details, you need to make it matter. Think about what drew you to the articles in the exercise. How can you match them to promote an element of the event or story that will grab people’s attention? Why is it being held? Why is it newsworthy? Why should someone care about it? Is it for a good cause? Think superlative – was this a first, last? Is it good news item that would be just right for the … and finally… slot?
You’d be surprised how desperate news outlets are to find news stories, especially local press and radio. Remember pictures and quotes make a big impact with news audiences and fill space. Ask the organiser for a quote why they set up this event or why they want others to benefit. If a celebrity is involved or attending, ask them to say why they’re involved. If it’s your author event, be bold, provide your own quote about your book. If that’s too cringe-worthy, ask someone who’s read it to say why they are going. Do give plenty notice of the event. If you’ve made it sound unmissable, they may send one of their reporters or photographers, so include clear contact details.
Whether we write from experience or from our hopes and dreams, writers want to be read. We can learn a lot about what appeals to our readers by looking at different genres. Why not pray about opportunities to use your experiences and skills in new ways? Maybe looking at news stories will give you an insight for your next writing project. Why not share what tips work for you when promoting your writing?
Elaine Langford is reflecting on her past experiences for a reboot of her writing during an accidental career break. She is especially looking to reconnect with her two personal blogs, Poetry Puddles and Faith Bites, reflections on faith issues.She may even promote them a bit more too.
Further Reading
When looking for helpful guidelines, I found three great sources: BBC Bitesize, offering study notes and career paths; the University of Art London student career guides and the News Manual, with insight into news bulletin etiquette and formats.
Start with the links provided and look at some of the other resources available on each site. There may be more promotion nuggets for your next event or an idea for a story line or poem.
BBC Bitesize
- Writing features, reviews and press releases
- Writing a news story
- Journalism Industry theory and practice
University of Art London
The News Manual
Very lovely post, Elaine! Thank you. Rereading your previous post refreshed my memory, and I also found this very useful. Blessings.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments. Glad it's useful.
DeleteThis is very helpful! Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteA super post Elaine with lots of really practical and useful advice to follow. Thank you.
ReplyDelete