At the Gaze into the Stars conference at Grant MacEwan University in February, I was able to attain some helpful hints and insight into the industry through interviews with distinguished journalists and professional writers.
The most common advice I received was to write everyday.
Write every day, blog, and brainstorm.
Ideas should be endless.
Reading other materials and writing as often as possible will familiarize one to errors that are commonly made. Writing articles, stories, or journal entries on a frequent basis also allows for a style to be developed, and for comfort and familiarity with words and language to emerge.
Craig Silverman, an award winning author and journalist, insists that, “mistakes are bad, but also instructive.” Silverman explains that by making a mistake, the opportunity to learn arises that is not necessarily available otherwise, as accuracy is not like learning to add or subtract.
I agree with Silverman.
Accuracy and speed are two very important factors in the journalism industry, and are features that have to be learned through trial and error and well as consistent writing. Fear is good because it keeps writers on their toes. Fear ensures scrutiny, and rigorous spell checks. Fear keeps writers from getting sloppy. Fear of a mistake can also be bad; mistakes are just another way to ensure better work.
Alice’s Adventures in Filmland by Brian Gibson is featured in VueWeekly online. The article is very interesting and cleverly written; however, the end of paragraph two contains a sentence that holds the most commas I have ever seen. The comma-spliced sentences can be noted further throughout the story making it difficult for the reader to follow.
The Canadian Press Style Book: A Guide for Writers and Editors is my best friend. Perhaps I should be so kind as to send Kalvin Reid a copy. Reid wrote an inspiring article in th Edmonton Sun on a survey that displayed that young Canadian females are aspiring to more powerful careers vs. the more traditional. Unfortunately, the statistics and results were all written with a %, instead of being spelt out as per cent.
The CTV.ca website has an article titled “Calgary Researchers unlock gene secrets of opium poppy”. This article contains a deadly grammar sin that is not always easy to catch, and that can be very easy to make. The split infinitive.
“The 46-year-old Toronto-born scientist has been researching the opium poppy for close to two decades and, with the help of researcher Jillian Hagel, has been trying to specifically unlock the gene secrets for two years.”
The three errors above can simply be avoided by proofreading, and by always referring to The CP Style Book. I am sure the writers are much more wary of these instances their own writing and in others in the future.
Mistakes are inevitable, but how one learns from them is what is important.
Photo courtesy of artzy.viva on flickr.
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