Indescribable joy
During the “first” months of writing, I would send out articles and still wait anxiously, like “waiting for my mother to come home from the market”. But only on a modest level, meaning I only hoped that the editorial board would notify me that the article had been received and would give me some words of encouragement, but I never thought that it would be published. Because I knew that there were contributors who wrote their hundredth article before the newspaper used them.
I can’t express how happy I was when I received a free newspaper with my article published in it. I stopped what I was doing, opened the newspaper and immediately found my article. I read it over and over again, compared it with the draft, and found the words that needed to be corrected to learn from the experience for the next article. That night, I was so happy that I couldn’t sleep. Many people (especially members of the Youth Union and young people) passed my article around to read – it talked a lot about them – friends gathered around to encourage and congratulate me, some excitedly called me “journalist”.
After the war ended, I was transferred to a cultural information agency. I continued to write for newspapers, a job that I was passionate about and loved. A close friend said: “You can write for newspapers, partly because you love reading newspapers…”. I found that he was right in my intention to summarize my experiences to draw lessons about writing for newspapers.
Indeed, I have never neglected to read, study and follow the newspaper. Thanks to studying and learning from the newspaper, I have been able to absorb the Party's viewpoints and guidelines, the State's policies and laws, ... improving my ideological awareness, helping me to orient my thoughts and actions, to perceive life, and to evaluate right and wrong.
In real life, I discover good things and good deeds that need to be praised. I see bad things and bad deeds that need to be criticized. The best and most effective way to praise and criticize is to mention them in the newspaper.
Starting with short news, short stories, good people and good deeds, memoirs, etc., I carefully studied the principles of writing each genre. I read them to people around me so they could comment and give me feedback, then edit them, rewrite them and send them out. Up to now, I have had hundreds of news and articles published and used in newspapers, magazines, and on the radio at the central and local levels.
Journalism is not an easy job, it is also very difficult and hard. To have a good, realistic article, the writer not only needs to have a certain level of professional skills, but also needs to go directly to the place, go to the field to listen, see and grasp the situation, collect data, then have to write, rewrite, edit many times so that the article meets the requirements so that the reader does not criticize it as dry, as "soulless".
I also know that to have a good, beautiful newspaper published on time, meeting the needs of readers, from the editorial board leaders to the reporters, editors, technicians, ... must spend a lot of effort, intelligence and even their hearts and enthusiasm. That's how I understand and sympathize with you guys a lot.
The function of a newspaper is to inform, so the more information an article has, the better, not just empty words, it needs to be honest and accurate. As for the way of writing, it is like a cook, the same food, the same spices, but with technique, skillful preparation, everyone likes to eat, but if it is not cooked well, it is bad and no one cares. Thanks to my love of reading newspapers, I learned how to write for a newspaper.
Along with studying and training at school and reading newspapers, writing for newspapers, I have improved my ideological awareness, viewpoints, stances, and practical action capacity. It has helped me overcome all difficulties and challenges, complete all tasks of a soldier while still in the army, a state official when changing careers, a citizen since retirement, and not only that, but also not fall behind the times. Now I consider the press both my friend and my teacher.
The trouble of “journalists” in… the village
For over 40 years of journalism, I have written hundreds of articles about the land and people of my hometown (commune, hamlet), some of which have won journalism awards.
Even when I was working far away, my villagers still “followed my footsteps” closely - that is, when they saw an article published in the newspaper, they passed the news to each other to read, many people were even “proud” of me. Every time I came home on leave, they praised and encouraged me, even the children showed “admiration” for having a “journalist” from their village, sometimes I felt embarrassed… When I retired in my hometown, some people said: I have a great story, tell me so you can write an article; others said: You must put this in the newspaper to help our people… Then in this hamlet, that hamlet, in the village, in the commune, I came to take pictures, write articles…
Returning to normal life, living in my hometown, with deep village and neighborhood ties, I am always careful when holding a pen. What to write, how to write? Should I avoid the “dark gray” side to be “safe”? That would be too monotonous!
In the countryside, not just in my hometown, the dark gray area still exists in every corner. It is the bad customs of weddings, funerals, superstitions, and nonsense fortune-telling. It is the bureaucracy and power of that official. It is the evils of theft and gambling. It is the young people who are loitering and causing trouble. Then there is selfishness, jealousy, envy. Then, the story of letting livestock roam freely, causing unsanitary conditions, and littering, causing environmental pollution. Then there are land disputes. And this insensitive doctor, that woman scolding her child for "foolishly" finding lost property and returning it to the owner. And the story of domestic violence, in many forms... many, many.
When choosing to write these “stories”, I mostly express them in the form of a “sketch” of gentle criticism, hoping to contribute a voice of warning. The article does not mention anyone in the village, commune, or a specific place, but only signs with my real name. Yet after the articles were published, some people in the village or commune told me: You are too cruel, but very good. That old man is exactly as you wrote, that’s why he stopped. Some people said: That story happened in our village, in our commune, why did you write it, “show the good, hide the bad”, don’t “show your back”…
It turns out that when I write this genre, I use the word “I” and sign my name instead of a pen name, so many people think that I write about them, referring to this person or that person. So, I have to explain what a short story is, what it is… to those who have good intentions to talk to me. As for those who “have a guilty conscience”, after reading my article, from then on, every time we meet, their faces are cold as money, they look at me with eyes like strangers, full of resentment. Although they don’t say it out loud, I guess they feel very resentful inside.
Sharing with you, my fellow writers, my readers, the above things, when living in the countryside, being a village “journalist” is indeed “powerful” but sometimes “annoying”. Anyway, I still find it fun and enjoy writing “sketches” very much.
Source: https://baolangson.vn/niem-vui-va-su-phien-toai-cua-nha-bao-lang-5049437.html
Comment (0)