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WORDS - part 2 |
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Good Writing |
Spoil chuckers
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| You know it when you read it. If someone in your club can write well,
cling on to them like grim death. If a friend outside the club can write
well, bribe or bully them to join.
The rest of us just have to do the best we can but there are plenty of simple hints:
Less is generally more and if you want examples of concise writing under pressure read any British newspaper either online or on paper. Just remember, however, that practicality rules. It is better to get the report of an event online tomorrow than to turn in beautifully polished prose a week later. |
Use a spell-checker. Prepare the words on a word-processor, then copy
and paste them into your website.
But do not trust a spell-checker blindly. Your may have spelled perfectly … the wrong worm. (Ooops!) In Britain set your spell-checker to "UK English". Microsoft Word and many others use "US English" by default. Ask someone else to proof read the text. Do that before it goes online. If you do not have any friends (!) or willing critics is there anything else you can do to improve? Well for a start MS Word can not only spell check but also come up with mysterious but quite helpful green underlines which highlight what they reckon is poor grammar. Now I know what you are thinking - I don't want some American software telling me how to write English after all I am English and ... All I can say is that I am British too and yet I am using it now so I reckon it is worth considering. |
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Being an author is like being in charge of your own personal insane asylum. - Graycie Harmon |
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Editing Other People's Words |
Don't Wait for Copy to Arrive |
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| Don't be afraid to edit.
A handful of writers object to their precious words being changed. Darned few of those a great writers. Most are just precious. The majority of people accept the need to make changes in what they write. No one likes the process, but usually the authors recognise that the result is an improvement which makes them look good. Don't, of course, change the meaning of a piece. Do make whatever changes are needed to best serve the readers. Is that paragraph clear? If not would restructuring help? What about a change in punctuation? Split in into two or more paragraphs? Try to get the agreement of the author to your suggestions and never publish without their consent - however reluctantly given!
Be practical |
Let's get it straight: a webmaster cannot wait for people to offer articles
and news. That hardly ever happens. You need to inspire, coax, encourage,
bully people into contributing. Don't beg! Don't twist arms and make people
feel guilty.
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| You need "reporters" to gather information. Who can be relied on to keep
track of members' films in outside competitions and report on that? Who loves
trawling techie websites and magazines might write an occasional piece on
trends in the hobby?
Can you find someone to do interviews with fellow members? That quiet, sympathetic older lady perhaps? If you are not sure of your own skills as a writer are there people who would become your advisers? |
It's a cliché that everyone has a story to tell ... people just
need to know you are interested and they talk. Asking them to write it down
is a small step then - after all they have rehearsed it all in speech to
you.
A few people really cannot write or know only too well that they write poor English. If that makes them reluctant, tell them you - or your colleague who teaches English - will be happy to go over their drafts with them … If necessary record an interview and write an article based on what they say. That is usually credited with "as told to". |
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Reasons to be cheerful |
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Find someSound enthusiastic about everything. Force yourself to look on the bright side. Go on. You CAN do it! Present club news in as upbeat a way as you can. If your lot lose an interclub competition go for:
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But don't overdo the "typical British diffidence". Look on the positive
side. You are always trying to "sell" the club to website visitors and being
upbeat can boost the morale of existing members. Write as if you are a
glass-half-full person:
not "only five people turned up to discuss the script" but "five of us brainstormed the script"; Do not actually lie - but put the best face on everything. |
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Go to Words part 1 |
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Website Makeover Guides - Introduction
What Should the Content Be? |
Navigation |
Planning Navigation
| Anchors & Links |
Words |
Getting Pictures |
Getting & Using
Pictures A Beginner's Guide to Creating a Club Website with Weebly
Don't Panic! |
Signing up to Weebly |
Making your first (elegant) page
| Adding more pages and
navigation |
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Share your passions.
Share your stories.
