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Helpful Hints for Writing
Letters to the Editor
and Op-ed Commentaries
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| 1. Know the rules |
| Know before you begin
your letter or op-ed commentary, how many words
are allowed and how often you are allowed to write
letters to the editor and op-ed commentary pieces.
For example, here in Fort Collins, Colorado, in
the Fort Collins Coloradoan, we are allowed one
250 word letter to the editor every 30 days and
a 600-word "Soapbox" or op-ed commentary every 60
days. The two can run nearly simultaneously. In
sister city Loveland, at the Loveland Reporter Herald,
we are allowed two 500-word letters every 30 days.
They are both small newspapers. On the other hand,
it is much more difficult to get a 250-word letter
published or an op-ed piece in either the Denver
Post or the Rocky Mountain News. They serve the
whole state and don't print many letters that move
in the same direction as their political leaning
or their editorial board. I continue to submit letters
on occasion there but reserve my writing for the
smaller newspapers around the state and the states
political newspaper, The Colorado Statesman. |
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| 2. Start with the facts |
| It is always good to begin
by getting your points with evidence, quotes, and
statistics on paper, sprinkling in the ATTITUDE
as it is warranted or feels like it belongs. |
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| 3. Does your letter flow? |
| Next, check your organization
- does it flow logically or chronologically, or
along the lines of a letter you are responding to?
Do your transitions from paragraph to paragraph
or subject to subject flow smoothly and use the
least amount of words as possible? |
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| 4. Check word count |
Next, it's time to check
in with the word count. Don't be discouraged - even
letters 100-200 over the allowed limit can be whittled
down.
A. Begin with the easiest - making contractions
i.e., I'm for I am or doesn't for does not.
B. Then look for places you can use commas and remove
ands or places in which you can remove or restructure
lengthy or run on sentences. Try to be more succinct,
to the point with the sentence. |
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| ***Remember: These letters,
because of the attention one must pay to a strict
limit on words, will not always sound like we would
speak it or flow as nicely as we might want it to.
Sometimes it sounds abrupt and may not necessarily
be entirely grammatically correct. |
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| 5. Eliminate unnecessary
information |
| Next comes the hardest
part. Removal of entire sentences or paragraphs
that upon second thought may not be central to the
theme or themes of the letter. Sometimes these sentences
or paragraphs really do repeat a point already made
or express a feeling in too many words when less
words would work without distracting from the meaning
or thought you want to get across to your reading
audience. This is where you must be prepared to
leave some words, sentences, or even paragraphs
on the cutting room floor. |
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| 6. Does your letter still
flow? |
| Remember, once you have
reached this point in your letter composition, you
may have to revisit the organization and transitioning
points of your letter to be sure that after all
the above changes were made, that part still flows
smoothly. |
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| **Also remember: This
process may or may not be accomplished in one setting
or even one day. Often I spend several hours over
one or more days, researching, composing, and then
editing a letter or op-ed commentary. It is also
very rare that my final edited version is even one
word shy of the maximum allowed. |
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| I have been writing letters
to the editor for years now and if done often enough,
this process becomes second nature. I can read an
antiabortion letter or a response to one of my letters
and my brain begins immediately to churn out some
thoughts for the response I know I will be composing.
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| 7. Be prepared for the
onslaught of attacks |
| One last piece of advice,
but it is the most important. If you are going to
write even one letter, you must be prepared, before
hand, for the onslaught of attacks on both you personally
and your stated positions by antiabortion extremists.
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| Antiabortion extremists
will deliberately misrepresent, distort, and lie.
Your motives, beliefs, and facts will be attacked,
lied about and distorted. But don't be discouraged.
Take the time to research and put your facts in
order and you can always meet those attacks head
on and crush them. You will see what I mean when
you read the letters we have done. |
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| Also, you may find yourself,
after such attacks appear, perhaps several over
several days, questioning your self-confidence or
command of the facts. |
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| Let me tell you a secret
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| Not taking the personal
attacks personally and overcoming self-doubts has
everything to do with how strong of a believer and
how comfortable a believer you are in the correctness
and morality of the balancing of life and liberty
of woman and fetus that Roe vs. Wade did. |
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| I know in my heart of
hearts that legal abortion is moral and illegal
abortion is immoral. Illegal abortion is immoral
because it saves no babies and endangers women's
health and life. I know we can reduce that number
of abortions in this country with more birth control
research, greater birth control availability, sex
education, and greater male responsibility in pregnancy
prevention, all without endangering any woman's
health or life like illegal abortion would do. |
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| Because my belief in the
correctness and morality of Roe vs. Wade and legal
abortion is so unequivocal, unbending, and unwavering
and because I am entirely comfortable with my beliefs
and positions, nothing antiabortion extremists say
about me personally or my positions has ever made
me question my command of the facts or create any
self-doubt. |
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| I find it challenging
and rewarding to point out exactly how they lied,
distorted, and misrepresented the facts or what
I said. It takes them down a notch or two and gives
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| back what they've been
able to dish out, mostly unchallenged, over the
years and puts new life and spunk into efforts that
defend Roe vs. Wade. As you read the exchanges titled
"Men, Condoms, Abortion and God on Abortion," you
will get a clear understanding of exactly what I
am speaking about. |
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| Finally, it is always
good to partner with one or two other abortion rights
supporters if you can. They can help you edit your
letters and when one of you get bombarded by several
responses, the other team members can submit a scathing
response as you work to adhere to the required amount
of time between submittals by each individual. You
will see as you read the various exchanges how we
have used this strategy. |
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| Just remember, no one
can ever chip your armor if it's fortified with
an unequivocal, unbending, and unwavering belief
in the correctness and morality of Roe vs. Wade.
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| If I could learn to do
it - So can you!! If you believe in the cause with
all your heart and soul as I do, you can do anything,
including writing letters to the editor with Attitude
that's Attitude with a capital A!! |
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Peggy Loonan,
Founder and Executive Director
Life and Liberty for Women |
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