All engaging specialist stories have the same basic principles. Don’t believe me? It takes a set of great skills to craft a specialist story that holds the reader’s attention. But these skills are the same regardless of specialism.
That’s true if you wish to write about arts and culture, technology, restaurants, education or travel and whether you write for a B2B magazine, a newspaper or a website.
Think about this coming festive season.
Whether readers are hoping for a new bike, the latest gadget or a trip to the opera, they will probably turn to one of the countless specialist magazines, supplements, websites or blogs to get inspiration.
What will they find? Jumbled and dull articles or glittering copy that tells them everything they need to know?
This two-day course will give you all the tools you need to become a top-notch specialist writer.
From generating story ideas and finding the angle to turning a boring press release into sparkling copy, you’ll learn everything you need to know to entertain, inspire and inform your reader.
Content includes:
- How to generate specialist feature ideas
- Making contacts
- Story structure
- How to speak to your reader and avoid sounding like a PR
- Writing style and different approaches
- Turning press releases, AGMs and reports into copy
- Interviewing skills
- The art of reviews
- Making copy online friendly
- Common pitfalls and how to overcome them
Specialist writing is facilitated by the Claire Hu who has written about retail, hospitality, culture, travel, food and wine to restaurants, industry and consumer titles and trade magazines. It is on the 17, 18 November 2014. Contact print@iaj.org.za to book or for more details.
