Writing
News
My early training as a newspaper reporter was invaluable for virtually every style of writing: get your facts and say what the story is about, cutting out the waffle to get to the point. The key is to express a concept logically and concisely, answering the basic questions of Who? What? Where? When? And Why?
FeaturesWhile the discipline of features is similar to that of news - find out what the story is about and say so - there's room for more detail, more creativity, more insight; and more scope for the writer's personality to show through. FWords offers features on all kinds of subjects, from human interest to retailing, from product design to business management.
SpeechesNot everyone can stand up in front of an audience and speak 'off the cuff', so some business people - rather like politicians! - like to have some help with writing their speeches.
One of my duties when I worked for a large plc was writing speeches for senior executives. This entailed interviewing the speaker to get an idea of their own speaking style, and researching the subject matter and the audience to create a speech that was interesting, relevant and informative - and of an length appropriate to the likely attention span of the audience! For experienced speakers this meant devising a list of bullet points around which they could improvise, for others it meant writing an entire speech which they could deliver word for word.
Brochure copyA brochure needs to be concise yet entertaining. I will interview the client about their products and activities and undertake any additional research required to produce engaging, informative and relevant copy. I will liaise with in-house production or marketing staff and with external designers and printers as required.