National Newspaper Association
Protecting, Promoting and Enhancing Community Newspapers Since 1885
Jerry Bellune
Jerry Bellune is a writing coach and author of “The Art of Compelling Writing, Volume 1.” For a personally autographed copy, send your check to him at PO Box 1500, Lexington SC 29071-1500.
BONUS: Who taught Hemingway to write?
I found his writing heavy going. His novel’s opening sentence contained 69 words, six commas and one period.
How to attract readers
It was a great marketing device for newspaper publishers and the two writers.
Have fun with your readers
Do you have fun in writing for your readers? You should. It’s near the top of my list of fun things to do with your clothes on. I’ll bet you might not know that conservative daily, The Wall ...
Closing your stories
Professional writers conclude stories with a bang, a laugh or telling quote.
Is it good enough?
You wrote with both sides of your brain. The right artistic side helped you add touches of your personal perception. The left analytical side made sure you gave all the details your readers will need ...
The power of smell
Smell is one of the most powerful senses, says writing coach Amanda Patterson. It can send us back in time.
How to find your writing voice
Writing is more than math. Your word choices and how they work together are important.
Why they read us
The Center for Media Engagement asked focus groups for their common concerns. They found that readers ...
What’s on your readers’ minds?
Compelling writers think about this in everything they write.
Have fun and make it humorous
Compelling writers make frequent use of allusions, metaphors and similes to paint pictures.
Turn your experiences into stories
Here is the beginning of what I told my readers about my eye surgery experience ...
Ukrainian publisher combats Putin’s propaganda machine
Our fellow publisher in Ukraine, Serhiy Kulyasov, writes us regularly on what is happening there. He was disappointed when the wife of a friend in Belarus wrote and called him a Nazi. Life-long journalists ...
How to interview complete strangers
My wife kids me about interviewing strangers. “I love it,” I tell her, “and those you call strangers do, too.”
Share your life stories
If you write columns, essays, observations from your own life or just a letter to Mom, you might use a model from best-selling author Robert Fulghum.
Open with a story
Compelling writers, speakers, preachers and others know to use this secret. I once showed my Seton Hall University students this parody nuclear attack story.
The power of shattering moments
Suspense writer James Scott Bell says all stories, fact or fiction, are about shattering moments. “The characters will never be the same,” he says. The retelling of the story of Mary, the ...
Why not tell it to Mom?
Many of us have problems writing conversationally. As fact gatherers, we often write stenographic reports.
What is compelling writing?
Novelist Josephine Humphreys describes what she thinks news reporters do: Like bees, we fly out to gather news like pollen. She describes what she does in grim, novelistic style: “I’m like ...
