JOURNALISM PRACTICE I BWR203

Practical Writing Course

This course takes you through the processes of writing for a specific publication, submitting work for publication, and meeting the requirements of an editor and publisher. Under the guidance of a mentor (a writing/editing tutor), you will learn to write according to specific criteria, deal with a publisher, and communicate effectively with others involved in the publishing process. And, you will come away with at least one published work (maybe more), which will set you on the path to a career as a writer. No matter what you want to write, you will find this a great learning experience.


Practical Journalism Course

  • Improve your writing skills, working on practical projects under the guidance of qualified and experienced journalists and publishing professionals
  • Learn what publishers want in writing
  • Develop opportunities to get a start as a published writer 

This module gives you hands-on experience in writing for our online student magazine. You work with a mentor (member of our academic staff) who will oversee your role as writer for an online publication, for one edition of that publication.


Course Aim:
Develop your ability to write articles to specification and submit those articles for publication in a periodical (ie. Newspaper, Magazine or Ezine).


Value of this Module
With so many would-be writers around, publishers can afford to be very choosy. Most will only accept work from writers who have already been published, but getting that first work published can be a daunting and difficult task. Many very good writers just never get published at all.

This module provides our students with just what they need: an opportunity to get work published. On graduation, you will have at least one work published (maybe more) in a publication that you can show to potential employers, which will increase your chances of being employed or published in future.


CONTENTS

This course takes you through the processes of writing for a specific publication, submitting work for publication, and meeting the requirements of an editor and publisher.

Lesson 1. Working to Specification.

Lesson 2. Publishing On Line

Using online Management Systems for Electronic Publication

Lesson 3. Writing and Submitting Articles

Lesson 4. Revising Submitted Work

Under the guidance of a mentor (a writing/editing tutor), you will learn to write according to specific criteria, deal with a publisher, and communicate effectively with others involved in the publishing process. And, you will come away with at least one published work (maybe more), which will set you on the path to a career as a writer. No matter what you want to write, you will find this a great learning experience.

This module gives you hands-on experience in writing for a publication. You will work with a tutor (member of our academic staff) who will oversee your role as writer for an online publication, for one edition of that publication.

Nominal duration: 100 hours

Prerequisites

  • Freelance Writing and Editing I, or equivalent
  • Medium level computer skills, or higher.

 

WRITING RESOURCES


No matter what you write, it is vital that you develop good sources of information. A good writer is also an observer of life, and a collector of information. Information, whether gained from other sources, from observation or from experience, provides the seed for ideas and the thread from which you, the writer, will weave realistic, believable, dense scenarios, settings, characters and stories. In the hands of the creative writer, information that may appear dry and prosaic can be transformed into the details and complexities of a great novel or a delightful first book or article.

Personal experience and observation
You might be able to think up great stories without experiencing or observing some of life’s richness, but after a while, they will probably start to sound the same. Our human brain tends to create patterns and will easily fall into comfortable patterns if we let it. Think about how a child draws a leaf. After the child has learned to draw one shape of leaf, she will continue to draw that same leaf until something outside – some new experience or observation – motivates her to experiment with another shape. Adults are no different, and learn to perceive things as they have done before, rather than keeping an open, inquisitive mind. Without being active, attentive, curious participants in, and observers of life and its amazing diversity, a writer can easily fall into patterns of thinking, creating stereotypic and cliché characters, scenes, dialogue and stories.

Writers, Editors, and Publishers
Networking is a most effective way of letting others know what you can do, and that you are looking for writing or publishing opportunities. People with writing or publishing experience are important contacts, well worth nurturing, and will frequently help new writers. To avoid irritating or offending them, observe some basic rules of networking etiquette, such as:

  • Establish a variety of contacts so that you are not over-dependent on one or two.
  • Attend meetings, use social media, make professional friendships.
  • Be sincere, honourable, and truthful in all your dealings. 
  • Respect others’ privacy and time in your words and actions.
  • Look for ways to return favours and be of service – offer to do research or typing.
  • Take a real interest in them and their work, not just in what they can do for you.
  • Be humble and learn from others, even if you think you know it all.
  • Contact busy people by letter or email first to avoid disruption to their schedules.
  • Read an author’s work or a publisher’s products before you contact them.
  • Acknowledge and say thank you for all assistance.

Other resources

Books/magazines/newspapers
• Look for books and articles on writing and publishing, on favourite writers
• Check what they are publishing to gain a better idea of what suits your kind of writing. 

Publishing Houses
• Different publishers have their own areas of special interest. Find out what they specialise in.
• Publishers should be selected carefully by the author to suit their own situation. Publishers can teach you a lot about writing, what is required, the terms they operate under, etc. Many maintain websites that offer good advice.

The Internet
• Invaluable for researching your stories and articles. Also useful for finding information on publishing houses, and for finding out what other freelance writers are doing. 

Clubs, Societies, Writers’ Centres, and Professional Associations
• Look in an internet or phone directory under "Organisations" and under “Writers”. Many industries also publish directories sometimes in print and sometimes on the internet.

Book Markets, Festivals and Workshops
• Aside from large international book markets (the best place to see what publishers are selling and booksellers are buying), there are numerous sales, writers’ festivals and other events.  Some feature writers as guest speakers or running workshops.