Some staffs are devoid of dedicated writers and have regulated copy to languish in mediocrity. Even if your staff loathes the written word and your copy editor jumped ship, it is still possible for your publication to have wonderful writing.
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Copywriting
For some schools, a healthy portion of the yearbook should already be done. But almost half the school year is left, which means most staffs still have events to cover and plenty of work left to do. It’s not too late to examine your coverage and writing to make sure it is providing an interesting variety to the reader.
For most advisers and staffs, work on the yearbook doesn’t come to a complete halt over the holidays. There’s likely still copy to be edited, and proofs to be reviewed, maybe even a deadline to meet. If that’s the case, here’s a few helpful editing tips to keep in mind for your work over the break.
You can fine-tune the writing on your yearbook’s sports pages with these easy tips on word usage and coverage.
Step-by-step Instructions for writing the Feature Story
Rewriting is the secret to good writing. Embrace it, and you will produce final drafts of interest. Reject it, and you will limit your writing to mediocrity.
When rewriting, read the story aloud so you can hear the tone and inflection of your work. Awkward working usually screams at you during this recital. It’s also good to have a friend read your story. Don’t hesitate to obtain objective opinions.
Good leads begin stories. Bad leads can finish them. If the first couple of sentences don’t make the reader feel helplessly curious and compelled to continue, your body copy won’t be read. Yearbook leads don’t sum up the entire article like newspaper leads. Instead, they give the reader a tempting taste of what lies ahead without necessarily addressing the main point of the story. They can tease, mislead, startle, amuse – anything that will invoke the reader’s curiosity. Study the following types of leads. Learn to write more creative and effective leads – leads that are real attention-getters.
There is always an appetite for profiles because readers are always hungry to know about other people. This is different from gossip in that it is an insight into someone’s life that is different, unique, exotic. When it is reported professionally, this story seasoned with flavor and vivid descriptions is called a personality profile!
Before you begin to write, read over your interview notes and gather related terms and important information. Listing and clustering start the juices flowing; they put you in the writing mode.
The old saying goes, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” However, without a caption, readers may get a thousand different messages from a picture-and all of those messages may be wrong.
