The Volcano lubricator. (Volcano, W. Va.) 1871-1879, 1874-02-26
Eints &C Amateur Authors.

YOU have something to say. Thor.
oughly good newspaper articles arc
only written when man feels: "Ne-
cessity is laid upon ne; yc, woe is un-
10 RE if write no: this article" II
you have nothing 10 say, by all means
say nothing.
:. Don't undertake to say what you
have to say unless Won are in your
best mood IF YOU were minister, /
should say 10 you, explicitly, "Ncvcr
write for the papers on Monday"
Those ofus who are not ministers have
our "Nondays"-though they often
come in the middle Of the week. It's
| 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 sermon for an
audience OF five hundred, rushes incon-
tinently (cl would rush, but for the
buck -baSkct) before an audience Of
fifty thousand or SO. Ought this 70 be
thus?
3. Jot down the pionts that you wish
to make (at least mentally before YOU
BEGIN TO write. See the end of your
article from the heginnins. If you
have 10 points 10 jot down, You have
really nothing to say.
+. Put your points in the clearcst
and sharpest way possible. Don't
cover them up with verbiage. Let
them stick out.
:. Say what YOU have to say in the
fewest possible words and simplest
possible manner. Never make use Of
an allusior, a quotation or figure OF
speech, which does not distinctly PRO-
mote the impression that you are seek
ing to make.
6. Stop when you are done. That
is, possibly, the great secret ofthe true
journalist. He does not think he must
follow everything out 10 the last ana
lysiS. He contents himself with sug-
gestivc hints which his readers are
competent TO follow out, and love TO
follow out, for themselves. lie reall-
zcs, nowadays, articles are read and
priced in proportion to their brevity.
OF editorial matter:
A two-column article has one rea-
der in one hundred.
a column and half, one reader IN
sevcnty.fve.
a column article, orc reader in
fifty.
A thrce-quarter column, one reader
in twenty-five.
a half column, one reader in ten.
y quarter-co!umn, one reader in one.
Boil Yourself down then, before you
write for the papers. Asl, yourself, !
with every fresh page Of copy, Gam l
rot really throush?"
7. Cultivate vivacity OF style and
variety Of expression. Abound in
crisp, tcrse, cpigr0mnatic sentences.
What Blair says OF preachers is pre-
emincntiy true of journalists. "Their
first duty is to interest the audience.
Here is where the born, not made"
come in.
s. Write always with the realizing
sencc Of the fact that every sentence
will be subjected to the sevreest criti-
cism Of ten thousand hostile eyes.
Throw yourself into tho attitude Of a
cynical, captious, ignorant adversary,
;,;id carefully criticise what You have
,":'Ii.ittcn after it gets cold. You will
be amused often to see what nonsence
you have written-what locpholeS !
you have left inyi;ingly open for at
tack.
9. De courteous, even when iealty to
truth compels YOU 10 be severe. Re
member that yoE arc gentleman,
whatever the ad"ocatc OF rival OPT
Mons may Prove himself Keep out Of
controversy as far as possible. Itrare
iy pays. Never, in any circum-
stance, be betrayed into 4 controversy
with the editor Of paper. He has
got you too entirely at his mercy,
10. Sec to ii, that What YOU send TO |