Selasa, 17 Januari 2012

Fifty Writing Tools: Quick List


Fifty Writing Tools: Quick List

By Roy Peter Clark

Clark berpendapat tidak ada hukum dalam penulisan namun ada perkakas yang bisa dipakai untuk membuat suatu karya tulis jadi bermutu.
  • Nuts and Bolts (10 perkakas)
  • Special Effects (13 perkakas)
  • Blueprints (16 perkakas)
  • Useful Habits (11 perkakas)


I. Nuts and Bolts
1. Begin sentences with subjects and verbs.
Make meaning early, then let weaker elements branch to the right.

2. Order words for emphasis.
Place strong words at the beginning and at the end.

3. Activate your verbs.
Strong verbs create action, save words, and reveal the players.
Pakai kata keterangan (adverbs) untuk mengubah makna kata kerja. “Killing me softly” mengubah makna membunuh. Pemakaian yang keliru, “Killing me fiercely.” Tapi berhati-hatilah dengan penggunaan kata keterangan. Hilangkan kata keterangan untuk mengecek apakah ia berlebihan atau tidak.

4. Be passive-aggressive.
Use passive verbs to showcase the "victim" of action.
Bila pakai kalimat pasif, gunakan passive verbs to showcase the “victim” of action. George Orwell dalam esai “Politics and the English Language” mengkritik penggunaan kalimat pasif untuk sembunyi dari tanggungjawab.

5. Watch those adverbs.
Use them to change the meaning of the verb.

6. Take it easy on the -ings.
Prefer the simple present or past.

7. Fear not the long sentence.
Take the reader on a journey of language and meaning.

8. Establish a pattern, then give it a twist.
Build parallel constructions, but cut across the grain.

9. Let punctuation control pace and space.
Learn the rules, but realize you have more options than you think.
Apakah pakai koma di dalam (Strunk and White) atau di luar tanda petik? Atau pakai tanda hubung? Tanda kurung? Titik dua? Titik koma? Hakekat tanda baca: (1) Menentukan laju bacaan; (2) Membagi kata, frasa dan ide dalam pembagian yang nyaman.

10. Cut big, then small.
Prune the big limbs, then shake out the dead leaves.


II. Special Effects
11. Prefer the simple over the technical.
Use shorter words, sentences and paragraphs at points of complexity.

12. Give key words their space.
Do not repeat a distinctive word unless you intend a specific effect.

13. Play with words, even in serious stories.
Choose words the average writer avoids but the average reader understands.

14. Get the name of the dog.
Dig for the concrete and specific, details that appeal to the senses.
St. Petersburg Times selalu mengingatkan wartawan untuk mendapatkan nama anjing! Ini tak berarti semua detail dipakai dalam cerita tapi seorang wartawan harus ingat untuk buka mata, buka telinga.

15. Pay attention to names.
Interesting names attract the writer � and the reader.

16. Seek original images.
Reject clich�s and first-level creativity.

17. Riff on the creative language of others.
Make word lists, free-associate, be surprised by language.

18. Set the pace with sentence length.
Vary sentences to influence the reader's speed.

19. Vary the lengths of paragraphs.
Go short or long -- or make a "turn"-- to match your intent.
H.W. Fowler mengatakan, “The paragraph is essentially a unit of thought, not of length.” Pakai alinea pendek, terutama sesudah alinea panjang, untuk menciptakan efek drama tiba-tiba.
20. Choose the number of elements with a purpose in mind.
One, two, three, or four: Each sends a secret message to the reader.

21. Know when to back off and when to show off.
When the topic is most serious, understate; when least serious, exaggerate.

22. Climb up and down the ladder of abstraction.
Learn when to show, when to tell, and when to do both.

23. Tune your voice.
Read drafts aloud.

III. Blueprints
24. Work from a plan.
Index the big parts of your work.

25. Learn the difference between reports and stories.
Use one to render information, the other to render experience.

26. Use dialogue as a form of action.
Dialogue advances narrative; quotes delay it.

27. Reveal traits of character.
Show characteristics through scenes, details, and dialogue.

28. Put odd and interesting things next to each other.
Help the reader learn from contrast.

29. Foreshadow dramatic events or powerful conclusions.
Plant important clues early.

30. To generate suspense, use internal cliffhangers.
To propel readers, make them wait.

31. Build your work around a key question.
Good stories need an engine, a question the action answers for the reader.

32. Place gold coins along the path.
Reward the reader with high points, especially in the middle.

33. Repeat, repeat, repeat.
Purposeful repetition links the parts.

34. Write from different cinematic angles.
Turn your notebook into a "camera."
Kerja kamera standard: aerial view (dilihat dari udara), establishing shot (dilihat dari kejauhan), middle distance, close up, extreme close up. Sebuah deskripsi dibuat dengan pendekatan kamera, dari udara atau dari kejauhan, lalu jarak menengah, lalu close up dan extreme close up.

35. Report and write for scenes.
Then align them in a meaningful sequence.

36. Mix narrative modes.
Combine story forms using the "broken line."

37. In short pieces of writing, don�t waste a syllable.
Shape shorter works with wit and polish.

38. Prefer archetypes to stereotypes.
Use subtle symbols, not crashing cymbals.

39. Write toward an ending.
Help readers close the circle of meaning.
Dalam cerita fiksi, orang suka dengan ending klasik. Si pangeran menikah dengan putri. Si kodok jadi pangeran. Si jagoan naik kuda meninggalkan kota. Dalam kehidupan nyata, ending tak seindah fiksi. Ini dilemma semua penulis non-fiksi. J.K. Rowling, ketika menulis outline Harry Potter, sudah rencana bab paling akhir. Bahkan kata yang digunakan paling bontot: “scar.”

IV. Useful Habits
40. Draft a mission statement for your work.
To sharpen your learning, write about your writing.

41. Turn procrastination into rehearsal.
Plan and write it first in your head.
Procrastinate artinya menunda suatu kerja, menyingkirkan dulu. Kata Latin “cras” artinya “besok”. Semua penulis suka menunda. “Never write today what you can put off until tomorrow.” Penundaan harus diubah menjadi latihan: tuliskan semua, pakai rutinitas harian, build in rewards, draft sooner, discount nothing etc.

42. Do your homework well in advance.
Prepare for the expected -- and unexpected.

43. Read for both form and content.
Examine the machinery beneath the text.

44. Save string.
For big projects, save scraps others would toss.

45. Break long projects into parts.
Then assemble the pieces into something whole.

46. Take interest in all crafts that support your work.
To do your best, help others do their best.

47. Recruit your own support group.
Create a corps of helpers for feedback.

48. Limit self-criticism in early drafts.
Turn it loose during revision.

49. Learn from your critics.
Tolerate even unreasonable criticism.

50. Own the tools of your craft.
Build a writing workbench to store your tools.

To purchase a copy of "Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer," visit your local or online bookstore or click here (as an Amazon affiliate, Poynter will receive a small cut of the profit). You can contact the author at: rclark@poynter.org.
styl� l s - �� �j� -style:normal'>The Price of Freedoms: The Unfinished Diary of Tengku Hasan di Tiro.
Kalau liputan politik di Indonesia, rasanya, seorang wartawan harus belajar soal pemikiran di bidang nasionalisme lewat Benedict Anderson, Ernest Renan dan lain-lain. Saya juga ingin wartawan belajar sejarah—bukan sejarah-sejarahan karya “pakar sejarah Indonesia”—dan hasil riset bermutu.
Narasi biasa dipakai untuk naskah panjang, mulai dari 5.000-7.500 kata. Roy Peter Clark dari Poynter Institute, Florida, mengembangkan pedoman standar 5W 1H menjadi pendekatan baru. Pada narasi, “who” berubah menjadi siapa, “what” menjadi plot atau alur narasi, “where” menjadi setting, “when” menjadi kronologi, “why” menjadi motivasi, dan “how” menjadi narasi.
Struktur naskah juga makin hari makin bertambah ragamnya. Seorang wartawan harus senantiasa membaca, termasuk karya-karya rujukan, agar mampu mengikuti perkembangan dalam teknik penulisan.

Jakarta, 2009

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