If you're like most people, you feel ice crystals forming in your innards and an intense desire to run away from home when you have to write something. Writing scares many intelligent, creative, dynamic people, and many writers, too. But there's a simple secret that can help you overcome your fear of writing.

A plumber and a writer were once comparing their jobs over a round of beer. When the writer mentioned writer's block, the plumber was incredulous. "Writer's block!," he exclaimed. That's ridiculous. Did you ever hear of plumber's block? Why don't you just look at the blueprints, and get started?"

"I don't have blueprints," the writer replied.

"Well get some, even if you have to make them," her friend advised.

So the writer tried drawing up blueprints before she started writing. It took some time, which worried the writer at first. But she found that her writing went much faster, she knew exactly where to start, and she wasn't as stressed out.

The next time she had a beer with the plumber, she thanked her friend for the advice, and told him "The blueprints were a great idea. But I call them outlines and formats."

If you outline your work first, you'll find it much easier to master the different formats you need to in your publicist's toolbag. The format you will probably use most frequently is the standard press release that announces news about your organization's activities, and is sometimes accompanied by a supplementary fact sheet.

To make sure the important information stands out clearly, press releases are written in inverted-pyramid form. Imagine an upside-down pyramid, its base in the air, its point in the sand.

The most important information is up in the air, at the base of the pyramid, in the first one or two paragraphs. Even if you take away the rest of the story, those first one or two graphs still include all of the important information.

Each subsequent graph contains less important information, until you reach the least significant material at the end of the story. News releases do not have strong concluding paragraphs.

A release written in this form helps reporters and editors spot the vital information. It is also easy to edit; if there's not enough space in the paper for the whole story, it can be cut at any point, and the surviving graphs will still give the reader the basic information.

Furthermore, since most readers skim through the newspaper, reading only a paragraph or two of most stories, this format lets them find the most important information quickly.

The pyramid format works for emailed releases, as well. "Structure press releases so the most important information is in the first screen," says Tina Koenig. "Because you do not know if reporters are going scroll down. If you take that approach, it does not matter how long your message is."

The purpose of the lead paragraph is to present the essential facts that make your story newsworthy. It is not the place to position your company by quoting a tagline. Positioning statements belong in marketing communications and promotional material. In press releases they get in the way of your essential task: getting to the point immediately, so journalists and their readers can get the picture fast .

Following is a typical news release lead, hurt by a trademarked positioning statement, but without the specific facts that would make it news. Unfortunately, many high tech and dotcom publicists write this way. If you don't, you'll have a powerful competitive advantage!

• Chelm Software Inc. (Nasdaq:CHLM), the leader in supplying solutions that implement operational service continuityª, today announced that The Acme Company has purchased several of Chelm Software's Revive¨ Restoration Programs for increased availability and reliability of their business-critical applications. With these products, Acme is able to automatically and promptly bounce back from database outages and get their databases online again immediately and rationally.

Can you explain what this release is about? You can't? Join the club! There are no specifics here, and there is no news.

From Chapter 6, The Publicity Handbook

The Publicity Handbook Table of Contents
Electronic Photos: When and How to Use Them
How to Choose the Best Press Clipping Service
Phone Contacts With Journalists: Strategies That Work
Webcast Planning Made Easy

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