Fresh straight from a Seminar, I feel the need to express myself before I get distracted from my (small) train of thought. I'm aware that the theme of my recent blogs seems to be ranting, however, I'll balance it out one day with a very happy blog, I promise.
It's recently become apparent to me that, unlike blogs and magazine articles, when writing for a newspaper, there are many restrictions. The average mental age of a newspaper reader is nine; therefore, you have to bear this in mind when writing articles. Also, you have to substitute lengthy words for the smallest possible word that fits the meaning. Then there's the word count, the house style and the none-assumption of any prior knowledge to contend with, too.
The main attractions of writing, for me, are the freedom to express myself, the power to articulate my own views, the opportunity to influence, and the hope that one day I’ll be able to dance with my words, and be able to play with lexis the way Monet did with paint. However, it seems that working for a newspaper would quash all of my initial anticipations as a writer.
I do quite enjoy The Times, and The Financial Times when I’m having a motivational day, however, I have a new-found respect for these writers. I guess I’m just still upset from not being able to use the word ‘Spermicide’ in an article today.
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