The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1874-02-05
How 70 WRITE FOR PIPERs.
PeFspiealIy, POlntedness, anu BreT;fy
indispensable Qualities.
s.Will Won Rire mo snna 80

/ "Will you give me some hints in
regard to writing for the paper?'i
asked friend the Ither day. Ger
.>tnly, 1 replied, with my wonted
suaS -'ty; and If the professional Jour-
nalist 'oes not think my suggestions
sensible. i'a will tuck tuem into his
buck-basket ,'lst as ruthlessly as be
did these articles you are So wisely
seeking to improve. What q world
Of nonsense he keeps Us from seeing.
But to my hints:
!. Never write for the psper unless
you have something 70 say. Through
ly good newspaper articles are only
written when q man feels; Necessity
is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me
if write not this artiele.u Ii you
have nothing TO gay, by all means say
nothing.
2. Don't undertake to say what you
have to say unless you are in your
best mood. II you were q minister,
should say to you, explicitly, ''Ney.
er write fOy the paper on Monday"
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 SERIOUS business. -
The minister, for Instance, who is of
the hooks, so that he can't prepare q
sermon for an audience Of five hun
dred, rushes, incOntinently (for would
rush, but for the buek-bsssell before
an audience OF fifty thousand or so.
Ought this to be thus?
3. JOt down the points that YOU
wish 10 make lat least mentality be-
fore you begin t. write. See the end
Of your article from the. beginning.
If you have no points tOjJt down, you
have really nothing 70 say.
4. Pat your points in the elearest
and sharpest way possible. DOa't
cover them up with Yerbisge. Let
them stick out.
5. Say what you have to say ia the
fewest possible words and simplest
possible manner. Never make Use o;
an aliHsion, quotation or a figure Of
speech which does not distinctly pro-
mote the impression that you are
seeking to make.
6. Stop when you are done Tast
. is, possibly, the great secret OF the
true journalist. de does not think
that he must follow everything out
10 its last analysis. He contents him
self 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. Oi editorial matter:
a twO.eoiumn article has one read
er in one hundred.
A column and g half, one reader in
seYenty-five.
A column article, one reader in fit-
ty.
A three-qusrter column, one reader
in twenty-five.
a half column, one reader in ten.
a quarter column, one reader in
one.
Boil yourself down, then, before you
write for the papers. Ask yourself
with every fresh page of copy, "Am
/ not really through ?n
!. Cultivate yiyaeity OF style and
variety sf expression. Abound in
crisp, terse, epigramnatie sentences.
What Blair says Of preachers Is pre-
eminently true Of journalists: Their
first duty is to interest their audi
ence." Here is where the "bOrn, not
made,n comes in. q g.e--
s. Write always with q realizing
sense of the fact that every sentence
nay, every WOrd-will be subjected
to the severest criticism of 10000 hos
tile eyes. Throw yourself into the at
titude Of cynical, eaptiOus, ignorant
adversary, and carefully erlticise what
you have written after it's cold. You
will be amused often to see what nom
sense you have written-what loop
holes you have left invitingly open
for attack.
9. Be courteous, even when feaity
to truth cOmpeIs you 10 be severe.
Remember that you are a gentleman,
whatever the advocate of rival opin-
ions may prove himself. Keep out of
controversy as fsr es possible. It
rarely pays. Never, in any circum.
stances, be betrayed into a cOntroYer-
sy with the editor OF a paper. He
has got you too entirely at his mercy.
10. See to it that what you send TO q
newspaper be paragraphed, spelled and
capitalized as it should he. Write on
one side OF small sized paper in neat
clear hand, and shun Rbbreviations.
Take time to spell out all words that
will have to be spelled out In the pa
pei.
IL. Make up your mind to aequiesce
10 any disposition which
the editor may, in his wisdom or fol-
ly, make of your articles. Ten to one
his judgment OF your lubricstiOns is
more trustworthy shan yours. Ger
tainly, he knows better than you,
quOd deceit las Cicero, Horace and
Quintilian would say;) that is, what
hits the very highest grace Of ar-
nalism-adaptatiOn-