Some notes for a seminar on editorial writing
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.)
