Extra Credit Blog #1: "Is it Really Just Writing?"

Often, people do not realize the numerous steps that a journalist takes in order to write a compelling story. First, one must contemplate about a topic, event, etc. that is newsworthy; does the story have impact, immediacy, proximity, prominence, novelty, conflict, and emotional appeal to his or her audience? Once a journalist discovers a newsworthy story, he or she must gather loads of information about it. Organizing the story into subsections such as who, what, when, where, and how can further help a journalist organize his or her ideas. Also, prioritizing the "Five W's" will contribute to a better construction of a story when it is done prior to writing it. Then, one must write a lead and decide what kind of lead is most appropriate for his or her story. Instead of writing the nut graf immediately after the lead, a journalist should write the ending (kicker) next; this way, the nut graf and remaining paragraphs will fall into place. After writing a rough draft, a journalist must "rethink, rewrite, and revise" in order to have the best story possible. With a lot of thought and deliberation, a journalist can create a great story.

Although this process may sound simple to the Average Joe, it actually involves countless hours of work and obstacles that a journalist must overcome. Initially, it may be difficult for one to come up with a good story; the "why does this story matter?" can cause a road block for many writers. Also, some journalists find the lead choices overwhelming such as the topic, summary, delayed identification (blind), anecdotal, narrative, roundup, and wordplay leads. One might get so caught up on the lead that he or she waits until the last minute to actually write the story. As a result, the story loses quality and the writer has to rush through the rewriting and revising process. For any writer, the details of the "Associated Press" manual might make this editing procedure long and frustrating as well.

In order to overcome these challenges, one might ask for help from family, friends, teachers, or even an editor (if one is a working journalist for a newspaper, magazine, etc). Seeking assitance may ease the frustration of the time crunch and provide insight about the topic of a writer's story. In addition, one can look at articles on the internet for inspiration and use the "Associated Press" manual for help with copy editing and content editing. Overall, there are many online resources as well as personal resources that can help the writing development less stressful.