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Some notes for a seminar on editorial writing | Philstar.com
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Arts and Culture

Some notes for a seminar on editorial writing

ZOETROPE - Juaniyo Arcellana -

Be current, maging makabuluhan,

Not all topics will interest kids of your age,

Pero iwasan maging trivial o ‘yung pasuroysuroy (pasaway)

Lang ang sulat.

Write in the language you are most comfortable in,

Sa madaling salita, magsulat sa wikang

Kinagisnan, at gawing ugali ang magbasa,

Because the things you read filter into the language

Of dreams, and so make you a natural.

Di importante ang may tugma, o rhyme and meter,

Pero nakakatulong ito, lalo na pag gusto mong

Matuto ng disiplina. Kelangan pa bang imemorize yan?

Oo, lalo na kapag flip-top.

(Patalastas ni Boy Pickup:

Ba’t mahirap maging journalist?

Pakalat kalat kasi, eh).

Come to think of it, each of us has his or her

Own language, ang lagay eh gusto lang natin

Makumbinsi ang nagbabasa na mas makabuluhan

Ang ating pagiisip.

Bekimon, jejemon, oks lang yan,

The key is removing as much distractions

To get to the root of the matter,

Facebook, Twitter, video games, pansamantala lang yan

Pero sa banding huli — at the end of the day ika nga

Ikaw lang at bolpen at papel, just you and the

Cursor on the monitor blinking, ang magtutuos,

Ang pagtutuos sa paghihikahos, ano ba talaga

Ate, kuya, ang gusto mong sabihin?

It should take only a few paragraphs to get

Your message across, ipahiwatig ang stand,

So may time pressure, kung baga.

Pero maging claro at wag padalosdalos,

May linya sa pelikula –maghunos dili ka! –

An editorial cannot afford to be emotional,

But on the other hand can stir up emotions,

Pero mas importante, maging tawag para umaksyon.

O sa kabilang dako, para di umaksyon,

Dedma lang ‘day.

Kung sa bagay, mahirap talagang pumanig.

(Masarap manood lang, fence sitter). But if you

Take a stand wag yung pabakla bakla

Manindigan ka so your reader who may not

Always agree with you will be convinced of

Your right to say or write such argument.

If you refuse to take a stand, wag yung

Tatame-tameme, though silence is golden

Please explain why sometimes the best course of action

Is inaction.

And before we forget, laging tandaan na ang

Editorial ay nasa opinion page, kumbaga

Isang opinion lang to, hihigit lang sa mga ibang opinion dahil

Pinangangatwanan ang kapakanan ng estudyante,

Kundi teachers at administration,

But to maintain one’s humility while writing,

One should remember this has an equal chance

Of being used as a pambalot ng tinapa

As the rest of the newspaper.

Ang diperensya lang eh, halos araw araw may tinapa,

Eh ang jaryo ng kabataan minsan lang o dalawang

Beses isang school year.

So pagbutihin nyo mga bata, di nagbibiro

Si Rizal nung sinabi niya kayo ang pagasa

Ng sambayanan. Pero ilan tanong lang:

Ang tuwid na daan ba ay malawak o makitid?

At pwede bang mag planking dito?

(Huling hirit ni Boy Pickup:

Wheh. Oks lang magduda. Kaya nga tayo naging

Journalist. Pero maging tapat sa salita,

Ugat ng hanapbuhay, pambili ng gatas

At bigas).

* * *

(Speech delivered by the author on the occasion of the 32nd Metro Manila Young Writers Press Conference and Contests at Mandaluyong Elementary School.)

vuukle comment

BEKIMON

BESES

BOY PICKUP

DEDMA

FACEBOOK

HULING

LANG

MANDALUYONG ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

METRO MANILA YOUNG WRITERS PRESS CONFERENCE AND CONTESTS

PERO

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