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Chargement... The Art and Craft of Feature Writing: Based on The Wall Street Journal Guide (1988)par William E. Blundell
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Inscrivez-vous à LibraryThing pour découvrir si vous aimerez ce livre Actuellement, il n'y a pas de discussions au sujet de ce livre. The Big Hike didn't produce the Big Epiphany I was hoping for, but I did come to realize that I wanted writing to play a larger role in my life than it had previously. To explore some of these possibilities, I found this excellent book in the library. Blundell is a long-time feature writer and editor for the Wall Street Journal, and he is from the E.B. White school of prose writing. I found the information in this book both useful and exciting. This is an old book (you can buy it used for about a dollar), but it's one I want for sure in my library. aucune critique | ajouter une critique
Storytelling--how to catch and hold a reader's interest through artful narration of factual material William E. Blundell, one of the best writers on one of America's best-written papers--The Wall Street Journal--has put his famous Journal Feature-Writing Seminars into this step-by-step guide for turning out great articles. Filled with expert instruction on a complex art, it provides beginners with a systematic approach to feature writing and deftly teaches old pros some new tricks about: · How and where to get ideas · What readers like and don't like · Adding energy and interest to tired topics · Getting from first ideas to finish article · The rules of organization · How--and whom--to quote and paraphrase · Wordcraft, leads, and narrative flow · Self-editing and notes on style ... plus many sample feature articles. Aucune description trouvée dans une bibliothèque |
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Google Books — Chargement... GenresAucun genre Classification décimale de Melvil (CDD)808.02Literature By Topic Rhetoric and anthologies Rhetoric and anthologies Authorship techniques, plagiarism, editorial techniquesClassification de la Bibliothèque du CongrèsÉvaluationMoyenne:
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I was wrong.
I wasn't out of my league. This is not an undergraduate- or even a graduate-student textbook. A very brief preface makes clear that the book is meant for working journalists. That was fine by me.
I had a bit of cognitive dissonance trying to focus on the art of writing feature articles, which can touch a reader's soul, with the author's reprimanding, if not impatient or disgusted, tone.
The text seems very dated too. The earliest copyright date listed is 1986, which means the book might have been released in the latter part of 1985. That was 30 years ago. Anyone remember 1985? It was a good year for me, but (for those alive at the time), think back to what we - and journalism - never had to consider. I know, in hindsight, that technology was thriving, but if the majority of Americans were asked at the time about email, the Internet, the World Wide Web, smart phones with apps and 4G, online subscriptions, banner ads for revenue, a Kindle, or even a PDF, there would have been blank stares all around. Mr. Blundell's book continues onward, oblivious to all of these advances. That's forgivable and, nonetheless, this book still could have provided guidance on writing feature articles for a 2015 audience. The attributes of a great feature article really haven't changed much during the past three decades. (The media admittedly have shifted, but online platforms, even podcasts, just offer many more opportunities for journalists and other writers and commentators to craft top-notch feature articles.)
This book's downfall isn't just that the mass media have changed dramatically. Education has too. In 1985, a dull, didactic presentation, in a classroom or a book intended for professionals, was not questioned. Sure, there had been buzz for a long time that students didn't learn uniformly, but that didn't do much to shift a professor's/author's approach, which standardly was to lecture. And that's what this book does. But since this book was published, education experts predominantly have concluded that traditional lecturing is among the worst ways to teach.
Here's an example of the author's approach to sharing the art of writing superb feature articles: "In generating ideas a vivid imagination is a big help, and if our unfortunate reporter doesn't have one, we can't supply it. But most of the time something else is wrong ... ."
(I don't know why Blundell uses the "royal we" either. If Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II were to iterate, "We are not amused," sure, that would be appropriate. But a book to improve journalists' feature-writing skills?)
And the text I quoted was a brief sample compared to the author's "one sentence=one paragraph" writing style. He has an affinity for double- or triple-compound sentences. If you finish the sentence and can't remember what you just read, take heart. You just read an entire paragraph and can't remember what you just read. ( )