Monday, February 28, 2011

Genre Pieces -- Developing, Extending, Polishing, Refining

I've spent time reading over your draft genre pieces.  Here are some general suggestions that will help strengthen your pieces:
  1. Develop your headings and titles.  A fully developed heading may be 2 - 3 sentences or more.  A title is generally short -- but make the most of it.  "Waris Dirie"  or "Waris Dirie -- One Determined Woman"   The 2nd title is stronger, yet it still doesn't "cost" that much.  Agree?
  2. Among your 5 pieces, include at least 3 pieces about specific events or moments in your biography.  General pieces that give an overview of a person and that person's accomplishments can be useful, but don't stop there.
  3. Aim for at least one piece from the point of view of a "contemporary" of your subject -- someone who knew your subject and had a relationship of some kind with him or her.  That person undoubtedly had an opinion on your subject and a way of voicing that opinion.

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