Dear Reader, these past couple of weeks have been a revelation for me....I realised one intriguing fact, that there is a writer in every one of us! It's true! Each one of us has an opinion about things that if I may say so, we are not afraid to voice! Imagine if we were to pen these thoughts on paper. Now, this is where it gets interesting, I think that it is the ability to express said opinions on paper that creates the divide between those who are good writers and those that are terrible at it.
A few days ago I read somewhere this very curiously apt phrase- "Journalism is Literature in a hurry". I must say that in the course of my education in the past few months, I have come to realise how very apt this phrase is and also how inadequate my talents are with respect to it.
You see, I belong to the type that rely on the use of heavy words and descriptive phrases when writing a piece. However, In the course of gathering stories for my portfolio, I have learnt a valuable lesson. One, that has helped me realise just how much hard work goes behind becoming a Journalist. The most important ability that a journalist should possess is the 'ability to convey a lot in a few words'.
A good piece of reporting doesn't necessarily involve the use long sentences or difficult words. Think about it, would you want to read a news story that has you looking through a dictionary after every few words? Another thing that I have learnt in the past couple of weeks is that it is very difficult to research stories in the real world. I had this really good story about a local community fighting to save an Art Deco heritage building.
Let me tell you that researching and writing it was a struggle from the beginning to the end.
One of the most difficult n bits for me was reporting a coherent, to the point story without reverting into my old habit of grandiose writing. Oh dear reader it was excruciating....habits of a lifetime and all that....!!
Well, I end this post by observing the fact that I may have to curtail these tendencies for my portfolio yet, I can at least indulge in this habit when writing this blog !!
A few days ago I read somewhere this very curiously apt phrase- "Journalism is Literature in a hurry". I must say that in the course of my education in the past few months, I have come to realise how very apt this phrase is and also how inadequate my talents are with respect to it.
You see, I belong to the type that rely on the use of heavy words and descriptive phrases when writing a piece. However, In the course of gathering stories for my portfolio, I have learnt a valuable lesson. One, that has helped me realise just how much hard work goes behind becoming a Journalist. The most important ability that a journalist should possess is the 'ability to convey a lot in a few words'.
A good piece of reporting doesn't necessarily involve the use long sentences or difficult words. Think about it, would you want to read a news story that has you looking through a dictionary after every few words? Another thing that I have learnt in the past couple of weeks is that it is very difficult to research stories in the real world. I had this really good story about a local community fighting to save an Art Deco heritage building.
Let me tell you that researching and writing it was a struggle from the beginning to the end.
One of the most difficult n bits for me was reporting a coherent, to the point story without reverting into my old habit of grandiose writing. Oh dear reader it was excruciating....habits of a lifetime and all that....!!
Well, I end this post by observing the fact that I may have to curtail these tendencies for my portfolio yet, I can at least indulge in this habit when writing this blog !!
