Writing Gooder

So hopefully, you all have seen Nate’s announcement about the developing YWS News. If not, check it out here! http://www.youngwriterssociety.com/topic60489.html

The second question in the FAQs talks about what will be considered in the approval process for articles in YWS News. Nate mentions something called “top down pyramid fashion.” This is actually a technical journalism term! Crazy, right?

More commonly known as the “inverted pyramid,” this is the accepted style for crafting a news article. When thinking about the inverted pyramid, think of a pyramid standing on its head!  The widest part of the pyramid is at the top, and the narrowest point is at the bottom. This is how news articles should also be — that is to say, the widest, broadest piece of information you have should come first. The lead, or first sentence and first paragraph of a news article, should be all that your reader needs to read to get the gist of the story. It should answer the 5 Ws and H of journalism — Who, What, Why, Where, When, and How. This is the most basic information of your story. For example, say I’m writing an article about budget cuts in the public transportation system. I might start off with “City officials met today to discuss how to overcome the budget shortfall in the public transit system.”

Let’s look at that in the context of the 5 Ws and H, shall we?

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Nate, I confess, this started all because I wanted to prank you. I saw that one thread in the mod forum (you know the one) and instead of being a nice human being and comforting you, I had the craziest urge to give you the biggest prank that I think YWS has ever seen. The plan? To fill up your PM box with thank you notes from all of YWS. 

Consider yourself lucky that I talked with Meshugenah first. She dissuaded me from this idea and we came up with another plan, a better plan. We would PM all the active members from YWS that we could grab and tell them to write a thank you note and send it to me, so that way, I would get stuck with all the thank you notes. And then we would show it to you, at once, so we could completely overwhelm you. A good prank? Maybe. We code named it “Project Awesome.” 

But it’s not completely my fault, honest. It’s the whole site’s fault. Yes, I had a crazy idea, but the idea caught on fire. Several people, when they first got my PM, demanded to help me and made sure I never slacked off. In the first five days, I received nearly a hundred replies and thank you notes for you. And not just from established members either–I was astonished how many wonderful notes that I got from newbies, who I thought would simply ignore my PM. Boy, was I wrong. 

Nate, nobody once said this was a terrible idea. Often for the topic of the PM they sent me back, they changed it to, “Great idea!” Or, if they didn’t do this, they simply told me, “Great idea!” in the actual private message. As Layleun put it, “When Project Awesome was launched I literally yelped with joy and danced around the room because Snoink finally thought of a way we could help you!” 

Nate, we all think you’re awesome. And we want to prove it to you. 

I asked everybody to choose their favorite color–that is why this is a whole rainbow of colors. Everybody is listed in alphabetical order because we are all YWS members, no matter what color we sport in the actual forums. 

Here is what we have to say:

Project Awesome

By the morrow:

You just have to write; inspiration is a plus, but professionals would be scrambling for food if they always waited for their creative energies to perk them up. Set up a schedule–write at the same times every day. That is discipline. And when you set out to write something, finish it, no matter how painful it may be. With enough practice, not only will you get those moments of inspiration more often, and you’ll still be able to write well without them.

I hope this was useful. Motivational troubles can be so…troublesome.

See The Thread Here