COLUMN WRITING TECHNIQUES

COLUMN WRITING

The personal opinion of a column writer is expressed on a subject in a column. The writer has a fixed style of writing and he generally writes on fixed subjects and has fixed point of view. However, there are columns in a newspaper where other persons also contribute in audition to the columnist who writes on a variety of subjects such as political, economic or cultural or on sports, radio, films, books etc.

A column is written weekly, monthly or bi-monthly, and must be focused on one particular topic. Writer have to be consistent in what he writes, maintain the same tone of voice, and stay focused on the issue at hand. The columnist enjoys the privilege of writing what he pleases and in the manner he wishes. He can make unrestrained and un-inhibited comment on many issues and write about personalities making biting comments on them. Literally a column means a vertical arrangement of items printed or written on a page.

Columns are usually those writing which are published and printed in a fixed space and on regular basis, under permanent topic or subject in the newspapers and the periodicals.

Columns are multi-purpose nature and can include diverse writings on national and international topics and subjects, social and cultural issues, literacy and light topics, economic and political subjects besides humorous.

TECHNIQUES 

Write with conviction: Put forward your opinion as something you truly believe in. Argue your case with conviction. Come down hard on one side of an issue. Be unequivocal. Never ever sit on the fence.

Maintain your focus: Make your column about one thing and one thing alone. Don’t muddle the message. Maintain your focus. That’s the only way to make a strong impression on your readers and to convince them that your point of view is correct.

Understand opposing viewpoints: Be mindful of the opposing argument. Anticipate objections to your point of view and deal with them convincingly with sound reasoning. If you’re not familiar with the opposing view, you will not be able to argue your points well.

Refer to facts: Your arguments, however logical, will not carry much weight unless they are accompanied by facts that support your position. Don’t overdo this and inundate your readers with statistics and figures. But do make use of facts from reputable sources.

Use analogies: Analogies are useful for illustrating a point, especially when the topic you are writing about is somewhat complicated or technical. Using a simple analogy from everyday life makes the issue more understandable and relevant to the reader. 

Be critical: People like reading columnists who dare to criticize real life people – not just nameless concepts and policies. Naming names might create a bit of controversy but as long as you do not libel anyone and don’t go overboard in your criticism, it works well to make your column an interesting and exciting read.

Do reporting. It’s possible to write columns without doing any reporting but the best columns typically involve some form of reporting. When you report, you get on the ground and you gain a better sense of what’s really happening. When you write from an ivory tower, it shows. 

Localize and personalize: Localize your story whenever possible. Also tie it to some personal experience – yours or that of someone you know. This makes an otherwise esoteric and distant topic more real, relevant and memorable to the reader.

Be passionate: Generally, people don’t like to hear a soft or passive voice when they read a column. So be aggressive – even arrogant, to an extent. People want to see passion. They want to feel energized. If the issue doesn’t seem to excite you, the writer, it’s certainly not going to excite the reader.

Provide a solution: Last but not least, don’t just raise an issue. Have the conviction to suggest a solution. Columns that criticize certain policies but offer no solutions are useless. People read columns because they want to gain insight and answers. If you don’t provide those, you’ve failed as a columnist.