The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1874-02-28
Hints to Amateur Authors.

Hints to Amateur Authors.
Il. Never write for the papers unless you
have something to say. Thoroughly good
newspaper articles are only written when |
a man feels Necessity is laid upon me !; |
yea. woe is unto me if write not this ar
ficle' If you have nothing to say, by all
means say nothing.
p. Don't undertake to say what you
have to say unless you are in your best
mood. If you were minister, l should
saw to YOU, explicitly, ssNever write for
the papers on Monday.n Those of us who
are not ministers have our "Mondays"-
though they often come in the middle OF
the week. 1t is, have sometimes fancied,
the custom Of most amateur journalists to
do their newspaper work when they are
too much tagged, mentally or physically,
for ssserious business.n The minister, for
Instance. who is off the hooks, so that he
can't prepare a sermon for an audience of
five hundred, rushes incontinently Tor
would rush, but for the buck-basket) before
ain audience of fifty thousand or so. Ought
| this to be thus
| 8. Jot down the points that you wish to
make lat least mentally before you begin
to write See the end of your article from
the beginning. If you have ne points to
lot down, you have really nothing to say.
4. Put your points in the clearest and
sharpest way possible. Don't cover them
up with verbiage. Let them stick out.
5. Say what you have to say in the few
est possible words and simplest possible
manner. Never make use of an allusion,
a quotation or figure of speech, which
does not distinctly promote the impression
that you are seeking to make.
6. Stop when you are done. That IS,
possibly, the great secret of the true jour
halist. He does not think he must follow
everything out to the last analysis. lie
contents himself with suggestive hints
Which his readers are competent to follow
out. and love to follow out, for themselves.
He realizes, nowadays, articles are read
and priced in proportion to their brevity
OF editorial matter:
A two-column article has one reader in
one hundred.
a column and a half, one reader in
seventy-five.
F A column article, one reader in fifty.
A three-quarter column, one reader III
twenty-five.
Il A half-column, one reader in ten.
t A auarter-column, one reader in one.
) Boil yourself down, then, before yor
write for the papers. ASK yourself, VIII
: every fresh page OF copy, Am not really
Q through2'
: Ii Il Cultivate yiYacity of style and varie
ty of expression. Abound in crisp, terse
epicrammatic sentences. What Blair say
!, OF preachers is pre-eminently true OF jour
Inaiists. sTheir first duty is to interest tn
!, audience Here is where the sSborn, no
!. Imade," comes in.
!, li+@S. Write aivs9Ts with the realizing
4 sense of the fact that every sentence-nay
q Ieverv word-will be subjected to the s.
Il Iyerest criticism of ten thousand hostll
q leyes. Throw yourself into the attitud
q lof cynical, captious, ignorant adversary
d land carefully criticise what you have WI
Q ten after it gets cold. lou will be amuse
q often to see what nonsense you have VIII
IT Iten-what loopholes you have lefC NV
d lingly open for attack.
q BE courteous. even when fealty t
# truth compels you to be severe. Remem
at Der that you are gentleman, WhateV'
N the advocate of rival opinions may prov
= himself. Keep out of controversy as tar
w possible 1t rarely pays. Never, IN an
n circumstance, be betrayed into contr
or yersy with the editor of paper. He h;
n cot you too entirely at his mercy.
ID 10. See to it, that what you send to
nr newspaper be Photographed, spelled an
capitalized as it should be. Write on o.
he side of small-sized paper in a neat, Gle;
Us hand, and shun abbreviations. Take tin
ed \ to spell out all words that will have to
erl spelled out in print.
no IL. Make up your mind to acquies
b44 cheerfully in any disposition which
at editor may, in his wisdom or folly, ma
n;rl of your articles. Ten to one, his jud
ment of your lucubrations is more tru
is worthy than yours. Certainly he kno
err better than you, quod deceit (as ClceI
cir Horace and Quintilian would say; that
ict what hits the very highest grace OF Jo'
apl nahsm-adaptation.