I’m graduating, finally. For you, this means that my 500 words of awesomeness (or drivel) will no longer be in your hands each week. What started as a randomly sarcastic e-mail from myself (a business administration major) to the HR Manager quickly spiraled into a two-year “stunt.” I’d like to think I did some good along the way instead of just pissing people off, but here’s my advice to whomever is interested in this gig:
Understand your audience. You aren’t writing for The New York Times or The Wall Street Journal. People don’t go to Winonan for instant up-to-date news. They check it at leisure looking for recaps of past things, what’s going on around campus, and a simple cure for boredom. Your primary audience is the students and faculty of Winona State University. Not the entire population either. When I first started, the readership poll declared 14 percent of students read the paper.
With that in mind, work to give people a reason to pick up the paper. Today’s generation has the opportunity to read a million opinions and writings instantly with the click of a mouse. If you want to be read, you will have to give them a reason to view not only what you wrote today, but also a reason to come back in the future.
Be relative. If your audience can’t relate to what you are writing about, they will lose interest. Strive to be easily associated with a variety of things to increase the odds that someone can hit a connection to what you are saying and even talk about it. Be conversational.
Be different. Normal writing is not exciting and does not garner new readership. When you are walking down the street, your head will turn towards beautiful people, Ford Mustangs, as well as that crazy hippy van that bottomed out.
Be worthwhile. Once you have attention, do something with it. Eventually being “distinct” will stop garnering attention. When that crazy hippy van bottoms out for the 100th day in a row, at the exact same time, your head will stop turning. People need substance in order to come back.
Show, don’t tell and if you tell, educate or entertain. You have to engage people’s minds in order to capture interest. If you are giving them everything they need to know or already know, they will get bored and fall asleep.
Strike chords; don’t stab hearts. This is not the pulpit from which to spew judgment on other people’s belief systems.
You don’t have to be an eloquent writer, you just have to SAY something. Don’t maybe write something, SAY something. Only the English majors care how you write, the rest are focused on what you are saying, as long as it’s readable. If you don’t have an opinion or a story to tell, make one up (an absurd male gender studies program): Be creative. This is supposed to be the fun, enlightening, intriguing part of the paper. You are an op/ed columnist, not a news reporter,.Embrace it!
Apply today!

Reach Carl Hunter at CRHunter6218@winona.edu