Talk:Principles for good writing and editing

Some extra stuff from Brussels. Some to merge. Some not to merge.


 * Deadline - set an early one and let the piece rest a bit (like a good roast beef!). On returning to it a day or two later you will see it with fresh eyes!
 * Jargon - try to avoid as much jargon as possible Christian: "one she got saved we chewed on the scriptures together and now she can proclaim her eschatological security!", YWAM: "He was great in the Barnabas group as his SOIP combined with his SOTB gave him a Loren-like edge."

How to write your piece
 * It is a hard exercise - writing briefly and well is not easy. Please try hard!
 * It needs to consist of a good summary of your ministry (~250) and a good testimony of the impact of the ministry (~100 words).
 * 300/400 words please! No more (or you will be edited down) and no less!
 * Add some requests for help if relevant: e.g. more staff for a project or more prayer etc.
 * Look at the Team Contrast piece for inspiration
 * Write in your native tongue. We will translate it to English, add all pieces together and edit for style. Then the final piece will be translated again.
 * Try to avoid native idioms of speech or jokes or complex sentences. Short clear sentences are best as they are better to translate.
 * Remember you have a GENERAL audience - not just young people. Target 20-50 age range.
 * Please meet your deadline - you will hold everyone else up
 * Write in the 3rd person - "YWAM did this" not "We did this". "They saw 1,000 people miraculously healed" not "I saw...". "Patrick jumped around for the team" not "We laughed when he jumped around for us".
 * Make it interesting - we do fabulous work - really shout about what you have done.
 * Include ONE story of how God has touched someone through the ministry. Change names if needed for confidentiality. If you are not thrilled with the story then others might not be either - you may need some help at this point. Please ask.
 * You might like to include a small table of relevant statistics - teams served, people spoken to, counselled, documents translated etc.
 * Show how you have made progress towards any goals set last year and what the new goals are.
 * Finally and IMPORTANTLY find 3-5 good photos in the largest size you have and bring them to me on memory stick (they should be too big to email). Good photos:
 * Have people in them
 * Have a variety of people/settings/faces/colours/sexes
 * Usually face the camera
 * The picture tells a story without words
 * Is an action shot and not usually a posed group/individual photo
 * Is in focus
 * Is not taken with a flash, unless the photographer is really good!
 * Does not have the people small in the centre, but fills the picture