I love to read, but I have the shortest attention span. If a story does not hook me from the beginning, my mind starts to wander and I start thinking about my next meal, the laundry that is piling up and my never-ending to-do list.
A hook is crucial and for me, a good hook involves an interesting human subject in a good piece of writing (What is Good Writing?). I want to relate right away to a person’s life story, sense of tragedy or triumph and descriptive nature. Without a heartfelt, nail-biting hook, forget it. I’ll head off to do laundry. Continue reading →
January 22, 2010
Posted by sphilpott |
Blog, Journalism, Teaching, Writing | Feature Stories, hook the reader, journalism samples, reading, sample feature stories, Teaching, what is good writing, Writing |
2 Comments
Every semester, it never fails, that a student asks me what constitutes good writing. I welcome this question although it is difficult to answer. The truth is that good writing is subjective and what I may deem as a good piece, someone else may not.
However, I’m going to attempt to answer this question with a list of possibilities – a realm of traits that have led me to rave about and cherish a piece of writing. Continue reading →
January 15, 2010
Posted by sphilpott |
Blog, Teaching, Writing | college writing, good writing, what is good writing, Writing, writing an essay, writing exercises |
4 Comments