Want to improve your writing? Write more, and read more.
Want to write the next great American novel? Join your campus newspaper first.
Want to major in journalism? Rethink that.
These are among a variety of tips offered by John J. Miller, founder and executive director of The College Fix, in a recent video titled “The State of the Media and Writing Well.” Miller is also director of the Dow Journalism Program at Hillsdale College, which produced the video.
“There are two ways to become a better writer,” Miller said. “The first is to read a lot and the second is to write a lot.”
At Hillsdale, journalism is only offered as a minor. That’s because studying the traditional disciplines helps students become more well rounded, and to complement that body of knowledge they take writing classes and report for the campus newspaper, Miller said.
“The great writers, many of them started out as journalists,” he added. “…Mark Twain started out as a journalist. Ernest Hemingway started out as a journalist. George Orwell started out as a journalist.”
While journalism is evolving with technology, and Americans are more skeptical than ever of the media, opportunities abound, Miller said.
“There is such a hunger for news and information,” Miller said. “The question is, do you want to help provide it to people? … The world always wants stories. Do you want to help tell them?”
“It’s hard for writers to change the world, but we certainly can nudge it along in certain directions, especially if you have a commitment to the truth.”
IMAGE CAPTION AND CREDIT: Journalism Professor John J. Miller discusses advice on a career in the media / Hillsdale College YouTube screenshot