Synopses & Reviews
Writing as Craft and Magic, Second Edition, outlines a compelling approach to conceiving, reporting, organizing, and writing articles for today's media. The book revolves around the central idea that writers improve most quickly by combining the powers of technique ("craft") with creativity ("magic"). Applying this method to news and feature writing--both print and online--it focuses on leads, organization, transition, clarity, drama, and other elements that drive good writing toward excellence.
Aimed at students in upper-level undergraduate writing and reporting courses, Writing as Craft and Magic provides a clear and succinct instructional system--with practical models, a wealth of examples, and step-by-step guides--to help students understand and apply craft and magic to daily assignments. Author Carl Sessions Stepp, a seasoned journalist at the national level, structures his system in three parts. He first evokes the art of writing, then applies that art to standard journalistic writing, and concludes with a strong section on advanced writing techniques for features. He also offers advice and tips on how newsrooms currently operate in the age of multimedia journalism. This revised edition includes an expanded exercise section at the end of each chapter, more coverage of the demands of multimedia journalism (convergence), and updated chapters on incorporating the Internet into research and writing for the daily news cycle.
Review
"FINALLY--a textbook on writing that's not a textbook but a real source of practical advice!"--Terry Clark, University of Central Oklahoma
"I'm a huge fan of this book. . . . Stepp's work manages to communicate the more mysterious nature of creativity in writing in a coherent, readily accessible way."--Kim Walsh-Childers, University of Florida
"The lessons are straightforward, clear, and well-reasoned. . . . Stepp's categorization of the yin and the yang of journalism as 'craft' and 'magic' is brilliant, hitting just the right note for my students."--John Lenger, Harvard University Extension School
Table of Contents
Preface to the Second Edition
1. Journalism in a Time of Change
2. Writing as Craft
3. Writing as Magic
4. The Three Qualities of Great Journalism
5. The Very Beginning: Ideas and Reporting
6. Beginning to Write: Focus and Leads
7. Managing the Murky Middle
8. Models and Common Story Types
9. Mastering the Feature
10. Writing for Clarity
11. Writing for Drama
12. Polishing Your Work
13. Multimedia Packaging and Presentation
14. Reaching Higher Levels
15. Learning with Others