Fensch - Writing Solutions : Beginnings, Middles and Endings.

New Century Books

P.O. Box 7113

The Woodlands, Tx.,

77387-7113

Library of Congress number:
00192068
ISBN 0930751191 Hardcover
ISBN 0930751205 Paperback

Copyright 2001 by Thomas Fensch.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

Ebook formatting by Sun Editing & Book Design, suneditwrite.com

For my friend and colleague
Gale Wiley
Who has always believed in this book

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| Preface

Writing is easy, Gene Fowler once said, all you have to do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until the drops of blood form on your forehead.

It doesnt have to be that hard.

Whether you are a novice or intermediate Journalism student; in a freshman English class; writing a speech, a technical report, advertising copy, or promotional or publicity material; beginning a magazine article or a book; or working on any other writing project, you need to face the demands of that first blank page or that blank word processor screen. You need to not only fill that first page or screen; you need to begin your project effectively, introducing your subject to your reader with exactly the right beginning, and with confidence that you are expressing the right tone and style.

Writing Solutions fills a universal gapthis is a generic style book, if you will. It is deliberately not focused on journalism styles, nor focused for English 101 students, but is a style guide that can be used for all types of writing. It is also structured to be a self-help guide for writers who may not be enrolled in a college or university class. It also is not too advanced for high school writing projects.

The book is the result of my 33-year concentration in publishing nonfiction: newspaper articles, magazine articles, and books; and of my 25 years of teaching writing techniques at the university level. It is designed to be as universally applicable as possible. Although most journalism books discuss specific journalism techniques, and a few freshman English 101 style books discuss a few notable beginnings in contemporary literature, there has never been a book that shows a wide variety of beginnings that would be appropriate in most circumstances. This book fills that gap.

Stated simply, the more you know of technique, the easier everything becomes. The more styles of beginnings you know, the easier it is to conquer that blank page in your typewriter or move that blinking cursor across your blank computer screen.

The more structure (middles) you know, the easier it is to use the right form and to move through your work.

Choosing the right ending means the difference between letting your material dribble off the last page or ending with real emphasis and impact.

At about the same time Gene Fowler was sweating blood, sportswriter W. W. Red Smith said, theres nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at the typewriter and open a vein.

Put away that knife and turn the page. Once you conquer beginnings, middles (structures or form), and endings, you wont have to sweat blood.

Or even open a vein.

Thomas Fensch

| Acknowledgments

The author is grateful to the following individuals and firms which have granted rights to print or reprint copyrighted material:

Ackerman, Diana, material reprinted with permission;

The Associated Press, material reprinted with permission; Atheneum Publishers, Charles S. Holmes, excerpted from The Clocks of Columbus: The Literary Career of James Thurber. Copyright 1972 Charles S. Holmes. Reprinted with the permission of Atheneum Publishers, an imprint of Macmillan Publishing Company;

Austin American-Statesman, material reprinted with permission; Better Homes & Gardens magazine, Fever: New Facts You Should Know and Historic House Update: Is the National Register for You? reprinted from Better Homes and Gardens magazine. Copyright Meredith Corporation 1986. All rights reserved;

Car & Driver magazine, material reprinted with permission; Chicago Tribune wire service, material reprinted with permission of The Chicago Tribune;

Cottier, Montgomery, material reprinted with permission;

The Daily Texan, The University of Texas at Austin, material reprinted with permission of Texas Student Publications, Inc.;

The Dallas Times Herald, material reprinted with permission;

Evans, Jack, material reprinted with permission;

Fensch, Thomas, material reprinted with permission;

The Fort Worth Star Telegram, material reprinted with permission;

Fortune magazine, material reprinted with permission;

Harper & Row, Darwin Payne, The Man of Only Yesterday: Frederick Lewis Allen, copyright 1975, reprinted with permission of Harper & Row;

Harvard Magazine, Vita: Johann Mattheson, Versatile Musician by Walter Schenkman, Sept.-Oct. issue, 1981. Copyright 1981 Harvard Magazine. Reprinted by permission;

I.H.T. Corporation, Material by Red Smith reprinted with permission;

Kellman, Martin, material reprinted by permission of the author and The Chronicle of Higher Education;

Keteyian, Armen, material reprinted with permission;

King, Dr. Martin Luther Jr., material from I have a dream reprinted with permission of Joan Daves. Copyright 1963 by Martin Luther King, Jr.;

KNT News Service, material reprinted with permission;

Little, Brown, Inc., material from Walter Lippman and the American Century by Ronald Steele. Copyright 1980 by Ronald Steel reprinted by permission of Little, Brown and Company; The Los Angeles Times, Cattle Drive is Long, HardRight Out of Old West by Ronald B. Taylor, published Oct. 13, 1986 and Stricken With MS, Madlyn Rhue Still A Working Actress by Howard Rosenberg, copyright 1986, 1987, Los Angeles Times. Reprinted by permission;

Macmillan, Inc., reprinted with permission of The Free Press, a Division of Macmillan, Inc. from The Four Days of Courage: The Untold Story of the People Who Brought Marcos Down by Bryan Johnson. Copyright 1987 by Bryan Johnson;

The New York Times, Pugilists Progress by David Kelly. Copyright 1987 by The New York Times Company. Reprinted by permission. Adultery with Discussions by Wendy Lesser. Copyright 1985 by The New York Times Company. Reprinted by permission. Chopping down a forest of bad guys by David Wiltse. Copyright 1986 by The New York Times Company. Reprinted by permission. Novelist in a Mirror by Richard Gilman. Copyright 1986 by The New York Times Company. Reprinted by permission. Atomic Bombing of Nagasaki Told By Flight Member by William L. Lawrence. Copyright 1945 by The New York Times Company. Reprinted by permission. Open Road Beckons to Adventurer, Age 5 by Mark A. Uhlig. Copyright 1987 by The New York Times Company. Reprinted by permission. Sojourns in the Snow; Hitting the Heights at Jackson Hole by Clifford D. May. Copyright 1986 by The New York Times Company. Reprinted by permission;