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In-House Magazine Article Writing

1/30/2013

2 Comments

 
Picture
The Pyramids of Giza
I'm writing somewhat off the cuff today, much as I did when I wrote an article yesterday for my company's in-house magazine.

The article was about our annual briefing, a meeting at which we reflect on the previous year's accomplishments (plus any areas where we fell short) and look forward to the coming year.

Of course, the danger is that you play it safe in writing the article, focusing entirely on the positives. However, by mentioning areas where improvement are sought, or where you fell short, you're indirectly referring a areas where things went wrong. Negative points can also be couched in positive diction, the classic example being where 'accidents' become 'incidents'.

The biggest problem with writing up such a meeting is the tendency to fall back on facts and figures that are mentioned in isolation rather than by adding tangible comparisons. Much better that I write something along the lines of: 'Last year our Company's transport mileage was equal to X trips to the moon and back, whilst man hours worked were equal to building Y Great Pyramids.'

Lastly, be careful of acronyms and initialisms. Not everyone reading will know what they mean, so better to say 'there were zero First Aid Cases (FACs)' than just 'there were zero FCAs', whatever they might be!

Anyhow, the point of this piece is...I wrote up a 650-word article the morning after the event, in just over an hour. By doing it so soon after the event (from brief notes and so quickly), I gave the article more vitality and freshness - even if before editing it did say the meeting occurred in 3013!

Below are links to my two Global Short Story Competition winners, my short-listed story for the National newspaper, Abu Dhabi, and my Canterbury Tale published by Coscom Entertainment:

http://coscomentertainment.com/?p=159

http://www.globalshortstories.net/octwinners2012.pdf

http://www.globalshortstories.net/winningstoriesjuly09.pdf

http://www.globalshortstories.net/winningstoriesdec09.pdf

http://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/short-story-a-day-for-decisiveness

Happy writing!

2 Comments

Lance Armstrong, Beefburgers and Chaucer

1/18/2013

1 Comment

 
Picture
Lance Armstrong
First news, first! I've just finished off my latest 'Lost' Canterbury Tale. I've ascribed it to the pilgrim known as The Dyer, one of Chaucer's 'Orphan Pilgrims', i.e. one of the pilgrims who didn't get to tell a tale on the outward journey to Canterbury. More on this next week.

Meanwhile, I've written a couple of limericks on topical subjects. Firstly, though perhaps it's not really that humorous in view of the people he's hurt over the years - Lance Armstrong:

There once was a cheater called Lance
who led us a merry old dance.
Whilst doping for years
he bullied his peers
and devalued the great Tour de France.

On a more humorous note (though some might not think so), a limerick based on the news story that horse DNA has been found in beefburgers:

Some people might claim that a horse
shouldn't really be served as main course.
But swapping of stable
for restaurant table
is fine if you've got the right sauce.

As mentioned above, more on The Dyer's Second Tale next week once I've put it through its final edit.

Below are links to my two Global Short Story Competition winners, my short-listed story for the National newspaper, Abu Dhabi, and my Canterbury Tale published by Coscom Entertainment:

http://coscomentertainment.com/?p=159

http://www.globalshortstories.net/octwinners2012.pdf

http://www.globalshortstories.net/winningstoriesjuly09.pdf

http://www.globalshortstories.net/winningstoriesdec09.pdf

http://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/short-story-a-day-for-decisiveness

Happy writing!

1 Comment

    Paul A. Freeman

    Paul A. Freeman lives and works in Mauritania, in the Arab World, where the Sahara Desert meets the Atlantic Ocean.

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