How did I grow as a reporter?
First, learn from classics.
I am a Chinese learner. Anhui University originally had two majors, one was "Chinese Language and Literature" and the other was "Journalism". Later, employers generally believed that "Chinese language and literature" is better than "news" majors in journalism.
Why? Because the "news" professional knowledge is superficially useful, it seems to be very close to the news, but in fact it is far away, and the "Chinese language and literature" is more useful for news writing.
Writing needs to be efficient. Every sentence must contain information, and the amount of information should be as large as possible. How can this be achieved? Your language will be more efficient only if you have read enough classics, not if you have mastered enough skills, your language will be more efficient. In the "Chinese Language and Literature" major, you can read more classics. If you want to be a good journalist and writer, you must read classics, there is no shortcut. You need classics as a foundation, without boy skills, it is very difficult to build a language system out of thin air.
Which classics should I read? In classical literature, "Historical Records", "The Analects of Confucius", "Book of Changes", "Guanzhi", "Dream of Red Mansions", etc., famous poems in Tang poetry and Song Ci, and poems by Li Bai, Du Fu, Bai Juyi, etc. The works of Lu Xun, Zhu Ziqing's prose, and Dai Wangshu's poems in modern literature; the works of Mo Yan, Liu Zhenyun, and Ge Fei in contemporary literature represent the achievements that Chinese can achieve in modern and contemporary literature.
Many people think that knowledge makes you, but ignorance makes you. If you haven't seen good things, you will regard bad things as good things. The literacy of writing is hard work. If you want to take a relative shortcut, first read "History of Chinese Literature" (four volumes) edited by Yuan Xingpei. It is the best version in the history of literature at present. .
Second, write more.
The so-called "10,000-hour rule". There is a documentary about Japanese people cutting sashimi. He has been cutting sashimi for 20 years, and the sashimi he cuts out is good and thin. The same is true for writing, write more, practice more, there is no shortcut,
Take writing characters as an example, when you write the tenth one, your perception is completely different from when you wrote the first one. When you write the hundredth one, your realm will naturally be different. Don't talk, just write.
Third, learn from film directors.
Movies have developed by leaps and bounds in the past 100 years. Today, the expression skills of movies are higher than that of novels. I have watched many classic movies countless times to learn from them and establish the relationship between images and words. Watching a movie is not that simple. It is not just for fun. Every time you watch a movie, it is a learning process.
How to watch a movie? Analyze more classic movies and watch more movies with director's soundtracks. When watching, try to figure out what the director thinks? How to use the lens? What do you want to express? At the same time, I thought, if it were me, how would I shoot? For example: The "Godfather" trilogy started with shooting the "family reunion" scene, and it was shot three times, each time being different, very clever.
Movies have richer and more vivid expressions, one shot after another. We have to learn from the director, and our minds are full of pictures. Can your writing do this? If you can't do it, it means you don't have a sense of the scene in your mind. Ideally, when the interviewee is speaking, that scene should also appear in your mind at the same time, and then you have to verify that scene. If you are not fast enough, you don’t have enough experience, you hold back and cannot write, it is your own problem.
When writing, people usually tend to use "because...so" in order to improve efficiency. Learning from the director's imagination, they can create scenes that do not exist in reality. The director doesn't even have the basis for interviews. Why do you write dryly when you write an article? It's because you can't make up those scenes... Don't use "because...so" to remove the logic in writing, and turn it into a picture, a story, and an image, and your writing can enter a new and more advanced stage.
Fourth, use advanced technology.
Advanced technology is a powerful guarantee for journalists' productivity. I will not use a software or platform lightly. Before that, I will ask myself a question: Can it be used for 10 years? 20 years? Or 50 years? If not, I wouldn't use it. For a reporter, you have to ensure that the sources of information you see are at least not speculative, and that the infrastructure of the platform you choose to use must be stable, so that your data, habits, and assets will not be easily lost due to platform or product problems. up. What about tools? It is recommended to use Google and Apple products as much as possible. In addition, remember to make multiple hard disk backups.
Fifth, exercise.
The body is the foundation of everything. I have always emphasized that writing is a very physical endeavor. If you don't have stamina, you won't be able to do interviews or write for very long. You have to be smart to do this well. The easiest way is to run for 1 hour a day, plus strength training (dumbbell training) to increase cardiopulmonary function and improve concentration. At the same time, eat well and keep your body in a comfortable state. If you are sick, treat it first, and don't delay. When I was in my 20s, I was writing so hard that I was so tired that I could hear my heart beating, to the point of "heart and spirit haggard". Up to now, my interview has still started at 4 hours, and I am not tired at all. If I don’t exercise regularly, I will definitely not be able to do it.
Author: Liu Ren
Editor: Li Xinxin
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