Mikes Recent Musings: 12/01/2012

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

10 RULES FOR WRITING OPINION PIECES

Writing Skills Tags: magazine writing.
July 27, 2009 | Susan Shapiro Writers Digest

Opinionated editorial essays are often the most fun, fast and furious pieces to get into print—especially for nonfamous writers with strong opinions and day jobs in other fields. That’s because editors of newspapers and online magazines like Slate, Salon, The Huffington Post and The Daily Beast want quick commentary on the ever-changing news cycle from experts who can illuminate different angles of stories as they unfold.

So if you have an engaging, unusual point of view on a current public conundrum, along with a relevant platform (e.g., being a teacher, businessman, lawyer, doctor, parent or stamp collector) you don’t need clips or editorial experience on your résumé—just quick thinking and an understanding of the form of these articles. I once sent a hastily written kvetch about a Kmart opening in my Greenwich Village neighborhood to The New York Times at noon, had an acceptance by 2 p.m., was sent a copy by midnight and received a check within a week. Here are the essential elements of a successful and sellable op-ed.

1. BE TIMELY OR EARLY. I submitted my Kmart commentary the week the local branch opened, which, luckily, coincided with a front-page debate about superstores infiltrating Manhattan. Timeliness is essential with this genre, especially now that online news sites can update as often as they choose. The presidential election was hot for op-ed writers until Nov. 4; then, regular columnists took over the topic.

Be sure to factor in lead times and how long it can take an editor to reply (especially if he doesn’t know you). If the Fourth of July is next week, your patriotic piece might already be too late. Retool it for Labor Day. Holidaysare reliable hooks because they happen every year, so you can plan ahead (or try again next year).

2. BE VERY OPINIONATED. Here’s the one time it’s helpful to be a hothead. Avoid being mild-mannered, tactful or diplomatic, as well as offering both sides of the story. An argument is much better than a discussion.

3. CONVEY A STRONG LINK TO YOUR SUBJECT. When you are an expert on a topic, it’s fine to emphasize your authority with the first-person voice, especially if your personal story resonates in a universal way. Just make sure you do have authority. Unless you have fought in the Iraq war, have lost a family member there or are from Iraq, your chances of selling a piece about it are slim.

4. ADD UNKNOWN FACTS. When crafting your piece, keep asking yourself what’s new, fresh, unusual and timely. As an editor recently told my journalism class, “[They’re] called newspapers, not oldspapers.” Include specific or obscure facts, updated statistics and direct quotes to support your argument.

5. DON’T SHARE THE OBVIOUS SLANT. Even if you can pen a smart argument on a topical subject, nobody wants to print what everyone already knows. Rage, play devil’s advocate, argue the rarer point or elucidate as only you uniquely can.

6. KEEP IT SHORT AND SWEET. Most of the op-ed pieces my students have published over the years—in large publications such as The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post as well as small ones like The Star Ledger—are between 350 and 700 words. Longer pieces tend to be penned by well-known scribes, senators and steady columnists—
not freelancers.

7. BE AWARE OF YOUR AUDIENCE. Here’s a sneaky way to learn about a publication’s politics, geographic preferences and tone—read it first! The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Times and Commentary Magazine are slanted to the right politically and probably won’t be running left-wing screeds by unknowns. The left-leaning Nation, Newsday and Slate aren’t likely to print a newcomer’s anti-blue-state rants. Beware of making too many New York or Los Angeles references in a piece aimed at The Detroit News or a website with national or international readers. Similarly, financial references and other such factors should depend on demographics.

8. DON’T BE AFRAID TO BE SYBIL. If you want to publish in lots of op-ed pages, develop multiple personalities, like the woman in the old Sally Field movie Sybil. Highlight different areas of expertise that show why you’re a good person to take on each subject. If you’re trashing the verdict of a public trial, identify yourself as a lawyer. To comment on parenting issues, mention that you have four children. If you want to interest the editor of Forward (a Jewish publication), The Irish Times or Audrey (an Asian lifestyle magazine), state your religion or ethnicity in the cover letter, the piece itself and your bio.

I have many identities for my various voices. When I’m sharing my side of an education debate, “Susan Shapiro is a journalism professor at New York University, The New School and Cooper Union.” When I show off to women’s magazines about being a matchmaker, “Susan Shapiro has fixed up 13 marriages and was set up with both her husband and his runner up.” When I pitch The Jerusalem Post, I’m “a nice Jewish girl who often visits her 32 cousins in Tel Aviv.”

9. DON’T COMMENT ON ANOTHER COMMENTARY. Although it seems like an editor might want to print your contrary opinion to the essay she ran yesterday, she doesn’t. Editors are also reluctant to run pieces trashing another specific article in a newspaper or magazine. Furthermore, a rant wrapped solely around one movie, book, play or TV show is a review, not an op-ed. You’re better off depicting trends or commenting on a bunch of current movies, books, plays or TV shows in an overview or cultural commentary.

10. FOLLOW UP. Many op-ed editors say if they don’t get back to you within 48 hours, the answer is no. But maybe they never received your submission because of a fluke. To make sure your op-ed landed where it was directed, follow up politely within a week.

Also, some places don’t pay for pieces. But several newspaper editors I know admit they won’t mention their usual $100–$350 fee for op-eds unless the writer asks for payment and sends an invoice. So speak up. The squeaky writer gets the clip—and the check! [WD]

Triple O Outline

1. Use the Triple-O method to create a plot "skeleton" for some of your story ideas. For each story idea, start with a clean sheet of paper (or new computer document) and try to describe each of the three "O's": Object, Obstacles and Outcome. This also would be a good time to try to come up with some possible titles for these story ideas. (Jot down as many appropriate titles for each idea as you think of, even if you don't think they're exactly right. Coming up with good titles is often a process of trial and error.)

If you're having trouble applying the Triple-O method to your story ideas, it just may be that you need a little more practice. As Nanovic suggests later in his Writer's Yearbook article, a good way to do that is to work the process in reverse-start with a published story and see if you can identify the three O's. After you've reduced a number of completed stories to their essence in this way, you should be comfortable applying the method to your own undeveloped ideas.

2. Pick one of your Triple-O outlines and practice writing the three opening scenes of your story:
In the first scene, describe your hero and show the reader what he wants. End the scene by planting a "hook"
that introduces the action in the second scene.
In the second scene, define the reasons why the hero can't have what he/she wants.
In the third scene, define how your hero reacts when he learns he can't have what he wants. After this scene,
write a short sequel that sets up the action for the next scene.

Saturday, December 15, 2012

Sandy Hook Murders

Want gun control? Consider this:

1. The reason the Constitution allows guns has nothing to do with hunting.

2. There are two reasons for private gun ownership:

a. For defense against evil people.

What would the body count at Sandy Hook have been if just one teacher had a gun?
What would the body count in the Aurora theater have been if just one customer had a gun?
What would the body count at Ft. Hood have been if just one soldier had a gun?
What would the body count have been at Virginia Tech if just one student or professor had a gun?
What would be the body count from aircraft hijacks if pilots carried guns. Oh! They do...and the count is ZERO.
What would be the body count in the Portland mall shootings if a citizen had a gun? Oh, one did. And the only body was that of the shooter, who committed suicide as soon as he saw the citizen show his gun. The citizen did not even have to fire.
Here's some more:

– Mayan Palace Theater, San Antonio, Texas, this week: Jesus Manuel Garcia shoots at a movie theater, a police car and bystanders from the nearby China Garden restaurant; as he enters the movie theater, guns blazing, an armed off-duty cop shoots Garcia four times, stopping the attack. Total dead: Zero.

– Winnemucca, Nev., 2008: Ernesto Villagomez opens fire in a crowded restaurant; concealed carry permit-holder shoots him dead. Total dead: Two. (I’m excluding the shooters’ deaths in these examples.)

– Appalachian School of Law, 2002: Crazed immigrant shoots the dean and a professor, then begins shooting students; as he goes for more ammunition, two armed students point their guns at him, allowing a third to tackle him. Total dead: Three.

– Santee, Calif., 2001: Student begins shooting his classmates — as well as the “trained campus supervisor”; an off-duty cop who happened to be bringing his daughter to school that day points his gun at the shooter, holding him until more police arrive. Total dead: Two.

– Pearl High School, Mississippi, 1997: After shooting several people at his high school, student heads for the junior high school; assistant principal Joel Myrick retrieves a .45 pistol from his car and points it at the gunman’s head, ending the murder spree. Total dead: Two.

– Edinboro, Pa., 1998: A student shoots up a junior high school dance being held at a restaurant; restaurant owner pulls out his shotgun and stops the gunman. Total dead: One.

Answer: the number would be so low it would not even make the evening news.

b. For defense against evil governments.

How many people would have been murdered in the Holocaust if the Jews had guns?
How many Cambodians would have died in the Killing Fields if private gun ownership had been allowed?

Answer: millions less.

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

The Four Parts of Effective Storytelling

The Four Parts of Effective Storytelling
I prefer to call story structure what it is: four parts, four unique contexts and discrete missions for the scenes in them, divided by two major plot points and a midpoint. Call them plot twists if you want to; the folks at Oxford won’t know. Throw in a compelling hero’s need and quest. Then formidable obstacles that block the hero’s path. A couple of pinch points. A hero who learns and grows, someone we can empathize with and root for. Scenes that comprise the connective tissue among them all.

The one rule of Part 4—the resolution of your story—is that no new expositional information may enter the story once it has been triggered. If something appears in the final act, it must have been foreshadowed, referenced or already in play. This includes characters.

GUIDELINE 1: The Hero is a Catalyst.
The hero of the story should emerge and engage as the primary catalyst in Part 4. He needs to step up and take the lead. He can’t merely sit around and observe or just narrate, he can’t settle for a supporting role, and most of all, he can’t be rescued.

GUIDELINE 2: The Hero Grows Internally.
The hero should demonstrate that he has conquered the inner demons that have stood in his way in the past. The emerging victory may have begun in Part 3, but it’s put into use by the hero in Part 4. Usually Part 3 shows the inner demon trying for one last moment of supremacy over the psyche of the hero, but this becomes the point at which the hero understands what must be done differently moving forward, and then demonstrates that this has been learned during the Part 4 dénouement.

Guideline 3: A New and Better Hero Emerges.
The hero should demonstrate courage, creativity, out-of-the-box thinking, even brilliance in setting the cogs in motion that will resolve the story. This is where the protagonist earns the right to be called a hero.