(Minghui.org)
(Continued from part 1)
Ideas Clearly and Carefully Presented Produce Readable Content
A vital part of any article is content that is readable. It is an essential ingredient and not something that can be handled casually. Therefore, it is important to spend time on it.
I'd like to share some of my understandings with fellow practitioners regarding mainly the title and introduction of an article:
1. Transform “logic” into “news”
Most readers are generally indifferent toward content based on rationality and logic. More “lively” content will have a broader appeal.
For example, an article about the “Wang Lijun and Bo Xilai Incident” could use the following introductions: “The corrupt practices of Wang Lijun and Bo Xilai have stunned the world. The U.S. Consulate's guards and the Chinese armed forces confronted each other. For an in-depth report, we recommend the use of software to break through the Internet blockade to read the uncensored news.” Or: “Since the Wang Lijun and Bo Xilai incident, the volume of traffic on one news website increased eight times and had 100 million hits in a month. It was Dynaweb—mainstream media for Chinese news. Be part of mainstream society by reading news from the mainstream media!”
I'm not completely discounting the effectiveness of previous writing styles, but merely would like to remind practitioners to use a variety of styles. If the menu offers only one kind of sauce on all its dishes, the customers will go elsewhere. Moreover, the sauces should cater to the majority to increase the “ratings,” thus improving the effectiveness of our truth clarification articles.
2. Make “obscure” subject matter “interesting”
One of the multi-media messages from the Minghui website talks about “The Stockholm Syndrome.” Although the content of the message is readable, the title sounds obscure and foreign. This might have kept some people from reading it. How about changing the title to something more interesting, such as “A Tragic Psychological Phenomenon”?
3. Transform news that sounds like a “serious history lesson” to a “popular topic”
The Minghui website posted an article titled “The Great Fire of Rome and the Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident.” I think most people would find ancient Rome somewhat unfamiliar. When we mention history, most people think it's too serious. Most people nowadays are shallow and don't care to read things based on rationality. Perhaps the title could be changed to “The Director of the Modern 'Fire in the Winter' – Jiang Zemin.” (“Fire in the Winter” was a popular Chinese song.)
Of course, some people do prefer articles that are serious and based on logic. In targeting this group, we can use titles that sound more serious and support it with historical facts and objective content.
4. We should not use “Open Letter” as the title too often
There have been numerous articles in our local area with the title “An Open Letter to xxx” in just one year. When used too often, people can become “numbed” by the title. At the beginning of the persecution, it was a very effective tool to shock and warn the persecutors. However, it has become a “cliche,” and many people know that these articles come from Falun Gong practitioners and might avoid reading them.
5. A strong story line
I often see articles titled, “xxx was Arrested and Persecuted Numerous Times,” with an average readable content. “Seven Years of Waiting for an Unjust Verdict” has a strong story line, is more newsworthy, and sounds more appealing to the reader.
6. The title should introduce a basic concept that can slice through the influence of the Party culture
The culture of the Chinese Communist Party is the main barrier that prevents people from reading truth clarification materials. Therefore, the title of an article needs to be as efficient as an arrow that can slice through the influence of the Party culture and enable people to see a basic universal value.
7. More use of “leading topic sentences”
This can make our articles more effective and utilize words that best describe the righteousness of Falun Dafa, enabling people to see the contrast between us and the Party culture.
“Leading topic sentences” precede the title. They should deliver clear and righteous concepts to the reader and instantly break through the Party culture. A good “lead in” could help transform the readers' thoughts and guide them to read the entire article.
(to be continued)
