(Minghui.org) I often see titles like these in our truth clarification materials: “Zhang Zhengyi Was Arrested and Persecuted Numerous Times,” “Stockholm Syndrome,” “Message of the Great Fire of Rome,” “An Open Letter to the City Court and Justice Authorities,” “It's Never Too Late to Be a Good Person.” Do you think anyone in your family is rushing to read them? Do you think these titles would attract the attention of people who ignore truth clarification materials?
Can We Write Articles of Superb Quality?
Why is it that after thirteen years of clarifying the truth, there are still many Chinese who do not understand the basic facts about Falun Dafa? Besides interference from the old forces, the harsh environment created by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and the influence of the party culture, I think our ability to clarify the truth still lags behind the requirements of the Fa. We don't understand sentient beings' inability to understand our materials, and are thus unable to break through the obstacles created by the old forces. This is an important and urgent issue with regards to saving sentient beings.
Based on my observations, due to the influence of the party culture, government and media employees are more resistant to accepting our truth clarification materials. Sometimes the readability or the artistic expression of the articles are not up to par. Teacher said,
“If our art form, or our quality, were less than superb as Shen Yun tours to numerous countries around the world, we wouldn’t meet their standards, and people wouldn’t approve of us, in which case we would not manage to save people. So you have to have something marvelously superb. Only when everyone speaks well of you, when nobody can say a bad word about you, can you save those people.” (“Dafa Disciples Must Study the Fa - Fa Teaching Given at the 2011 Washington DC Metro Area Fa Conference”)
The Fa-rectification process requires us to raise our levels. The readability of our articles needs to be upgraded as well, and we should start with the titles and introductions of the articles.
Western journalists place great importance on the headline of a news article. Creating twenty or more possible headlines is not much. A professor of an American school of journalism says he spends half of the time on writing the introduction.
Teacher said,
“Today's people are really hard to save. [It seems as though] they'll listen only if what you tell them is in line with their ideas, and they'll listen only if you talk to them in a way that they like. In other words, if you want to save them, they have conditions for you to do so.” (Teaching the Fa at the 2004 International Fa Conference in New York)
“So we should make these programs more diverse and more interesting to people so that they'll want to watch them.” (Touring North America to Teach the Fa)
Adding a Little Sugar to the Coffee
Adding a little sugar to the coffee will enhance the flavor, attracting more people to drink the fragrant “life saving coffee.” Many practitioners' articles are truly touching, but it is largely due to the cultivator's realm and Teacher's help. The composition of the article may still need improvement.
I would also like to remind practitioners that no matter how good the content may be, if the title is not interesting, people may not be attracted to it or understand it. There is still a large number of sentient beings who don't read our materials. Therefore we need to recognize where we are lacking and improve our writing abilities.
Getting Rid of Our Human Notions and Improving Our Writing Skills
Are we able to write interesting titles and introductions to our truth clarification articles? Absolutely! The Fa will bestow us with infinite wisdom, as long as we place importance on creating headlines that are newsworthy and reflect the content of the articles, as sentient beings came here for Dafa. On the other hand, when we are enlightened and assimilated to the Fa principles, then we are equipped with the “gong,” that enables us to write articles with more compassion. Sentient beings' knowing sides may be awakened by our righteous thoughts. At the same time, when we are assimilated to the Fa, our wisdom is capable of creating inspiring and interesting articles to attract people.
(to be continued)
