Creative Writing For Dummies, 2nd Edition

Chapter 17

Breaking into Journalism

IN THIS CHAPTER

Understanding the world of newspapers and magazines

Getting your facts straight

Knowing how to sell your work

Journalism may not sound much like creative writing, but many novelists, poets, and playwrights also pen articles to help support their writing. Many journalists’ columns have been turned into books and many a novel sprang from or was inspired by a piece of journalism. Journalism can be highly creative and can also act as the cutting edge where new ideas, concerns, and styles of writing are born.

Journalism is a highly competitive, insatiable industry, always demanding material for new stories. To be a journalist, you need to work hard and have the ability to think of fresh ideas. And, if you keep plugging away, you can make an impact. You need to master the tools of the trade, be prepared for many rejections along the way, and be tough.

Journalism demands a high standard of English, fluency, and brevity of expression, and the ability to get to the kernel of a subject. It also demands a lively and inquiring mind, intuition about people, the ability to sniff out when something’s not quite right, and the toughness to enable ...