W. S. CHAPMAN by W. S. Chapman

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Aug 11, 1910

W. S. CHAPMAN

By W. S. Chapman

Writing for the Press—No. 2

W. S. CHAPMAN

In my article last week I explained at some length the difference between a newspaper story and a story for a magazine. A few additional suggestions will not be out of place.

If you are compelled to use a pencil, employ a very soft, black lead, and write legibly. Illegible writing discourages an editor, and wastes the time of the compositor.

Whenever you give the name of an individual, or of a place, be certain that it is spelled correctly, and write it very plainly. Better still, print it; so also any unusual word.

Do not abbreviate words when it can be avoided. Each paper has its style in this respect, however. Study the practise of the paper you write for. Some papers allow the names of States to be abbreviated, as well as names of months; others write them out in full. In case you abbreviate a word and find that it should be spelled out in full, draw a circle around it. Always place a period after an abbreviated word. When you use a pen or pencil, always draw a circle around the periods at the end of sentences. This is done to distinguish them from commas.

Avoid making corrections on the finished copy. Where a lengthy interlineation is attempted, do not place it between the lines, and never in the margin. That space belongs to the copy readers. Cut the sheet in two and paste in the extra matter, or, better still, rewrite the whole page.

Divide words at the end of syllables, and never divide a word at the end of a page. Crowd the last few lines so as to get the whole in on the page. Do not begin a paragraph at the bottom of a page. The copy reader will be obliged to copy that line onto the succeeding page, as the sheets of one article may be divided among different compositors.

In newspaper work, the unwritten law for paragraphing is, Never allow a paragraph to exceed two hundred words; also, make a new paragraph on the introduction of each new point, and at every change of speakers in a dialogue. Do not be afraid of making too many paragraphs. Your fault will be more likely to lean the other way.

Do not use italics. Do not use words which require their use. It is bad taste. Some large offices have discarded italics, because usually linotype machines do not contain them.

Use no foreign word where a good, plain English one will answer. Write nothing that evinces a desire to ventilate learning. The greater the scholar, the more simple the language used in which to clothe his thoughts.

Never use quotation marks, enclosing one or more words, in an effort to make your writing impressive. Nothing is more offensive to an editor than this mistake. Such a use of quotation marks is a sure sign of verdancy. Try so to write that the reader will gather the correct impression from the way you group your words into sentences and paragraphs. Still, sometimes, as, for instance, in printing strange words, where the sense is not clear, the use of quotation marks has to be tolerated. As a rule, employ quotation marks only to enclose the actual words used by a speaker or writer.

In writing, when you have occasion to mention yourself as the author, always use the personal pronoun “I,” never “we,” “your humble servant,” “the writer,” etc. These old forms are dropping out of use. Avoid all obsolete words, odd phrases, and everything incongruous. Write naturally, as you would talk. Be brief, terse, clear, and laconic in forming your sentences, expunging every useless word, yet not sacrificing clearness for brevity. Remember that with a printer every useless word is a serious mistake. Space is money.

Avoid long, complicated sentences containing parentheses. Better divide your matter into two short sentences, and so dispense with their use.

When quoting words or passages, use the double quotation marks. When you employ a quotation within a quotation, use the single marks. If a third quotation should occur within the other two, use again the double quotation marks; as, “The incorrectness of the despatches led Bismarck to declare, ‘It will soon come to be said, "He lies like the telegraph."’”

Avoid the use of the third quotation whenever possible. When any expression divides a quotation, use quotation marks at each end of the quotation; as, “I would rather be right,” said Clay, “than be president.”

For the use of single quotation marks where another person interrupts a conversation, or several take part in it, study conversations as presented in the public press. Particularly study the style of the papers you wish to write for.