The second is that it is way too easy to procrastinate when I write and procrastination can bite you in the body text.
But the real lesson I learned was one I learned a long time ago and forgot about it until today.
Long feature articles psych out experienced news writers. Many over think the process and miss the mark, not because they haven't the talent, but because they think anything over 1,200 words has to be hard.
I worked on two stories from the same writer today. One was well over 2,000 words and one was a sidebar of about 500. This writer is a solid writer with a gift for placing the reader at the scene. The short piece had very few errors and required only minor edits. Short, informative articles is that writer's norm.
The longer one, still possessing every essential element of a good feature, required more work and some revision. When faced with a longer copy requirement, the writer at first wrote in a less concise way than her normal style.
Let's establish the rule: Longer does not mean permission for wordiness. It does mean more information, description, research or a combination.
The writer, after putting the piece aside for a day, figured that out on her own. And that may be the key if you are transitioning from one writing form to another. Get it on the paper and step away from it for a while. When you come back to it, read it out loud to yourself and apply all the same rules you've always written by. Can I say it shorter and increase the impact of that phrase. The answer won't always be yes. Sometimes the flow of the story will dictate a longer sentence. Just remember, somewhere between 2 and 35 is the ideal sentence length. Anything beyond that is an exception. It happens, but with very careful construction and not as a standard.
So, don't get psyched out; get it out. Put it down for a few hours or overnight and then look at it again. You'll know you're getting there when you enjoy the read.
Now, it's time for me to quit procrastinating and get back to my own writing.
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