9Trees Writing Hints and Tips
This document is a list of hints and tips which we’ve put together to help guide your writing. This is optional reading but could give use useful ideas.
Top tip!
Combine several of the following hints and tips together to even further strengthen your writing
Use questions to draw the reader in and get them thinking
“What is your favourite thing about a woodland? A chorus of spring birdsong or butterflies flitting around a secluded glade? Perhaps it is the autumn colours with the multitude of fungi clinging to old logs? Or taking a quiet walk between the snoozing trees on a crisp winter morning? All of these seem a far cry from a field of young trees; each little more than a twig, shielded from the world by their protective tubes”
Matt Slaymaker - Boosting biodiversity on 9Trees planting sites
Consider using provocative language - maybe writing in an intentionally flippant way to catch and keep the reader’s attention
“The furore over Cecil the lion clearly demonstrates that the public are passionate about conserving wildlife – wherever it is. Yet conservation spending in richer nations is still trapped in a parochial “home first” mindset. Given most plants and animals, and particularly endangered species, are found in poorer countries where money goes further, why are we worrying about hedgehogs, red squirrels or wild boar?”
James Borrell - If you really love wildlife, forget about red squirrels
(The writer cares about native wildlife but think it’s over-emphasised when there are larger challenges abroad. He makes this argument confidently with lots of reasons why. At the end, he brings it full circle, saying that protecting habitats abroad will protect species important to the UK too, such as the migratory turtle dove. Excellent writing.)Use imagery to create a sensory experience for the reader
“Imagine a pristine forest. A woodland filled with abundant species of fauna and flora. There are moose, red deer and other noble herbivores patrolling the deep wilderness with equal grace and power. Tortoiseshell butterflies flitter over rain-soaked fungi and furry mosses. Echoing chirps of timid amphibians blend seamlessly with countless warbling finches. A flashing glimpse of lean muscle and glinting eye, a lynx? A wolf?”
George Havill - The importance of UK wildlife
“Overhead the bird’s melodies announce the coming of the spring dance, the ancient ritual whereby all life surges forth to reawaken the land from its winter stupor. While there is still a fresh bite to the air, and the white blackthorn flowers put in mind the distant snows of months past, the sun gets warmer by the day, more golden in its reach. Maybe the smell of primrose or wild garlic hangs in the air, floating butterflies upon its perfume and drawing us out to greet the day, inviting us to walk once more amongst the wildest of corners of our landscape.”Richard Nokes - Trees and water
Be mysterious - the following blog that I wrote is about the 6th mass extinction but I only reveal this later on
“How can the death be so silent?’ I wonder, walking under the forest’s closed canopy like a fugitive. ‘And how can it take so long?’ I think, pausing to negotiate a fallen branch, encrusted in lichen, and to admire the view. Wintry morning light is casting the trees a mellow gold and the crisp air is dappled with birdsong. It all seems so fresh and perfect, like the dawn of life. And yet, conservationists argue that for many species, all across our globe, the dawn is long-gone. They suggest that many species are in fact facing the dusk. Some go even further, saying that we are now witness to a mass extinction, in short, that life is quickly melting away”
Tristian Herbert - Are we in the 6th mass extinction??
If what you are writing about makes you emotional, show it
“Who wants to see the living world destroyed? Who wants an end to birdsong, bees and coral reefs, the falcon’s stoop, the salmon’s leap? Who wants to see the soil stripped from the land, the sea rimed with rubbish?
No one. And yet it happens. Seven billion of us allow fossil fuel companies to push shut the narrow atmospheric door through which humanity stepped. We permit industrial farming to tear away the soil, banish trees from the hills, engineer another silent spring. We let the owners of grouse moors, 1% of the 1%, shoot and poison hen harriers, peregrines and eagles. We watch mutely as a small fleet of monster fishing ships trashes the oceans.
Why are the defenders of the living world so ineffective?”George Monbiot - Why we fight for the living world: it's about love, and it's time we said so
Appeal to a wide audience by using pop culture, powerful quotes, or historical references. If - like me- your knowledge of pop culture is non-existent, then don’t force this. But if you’ve recently watched or read something well-known that naturally ties in to your blog, then feel free to draw on this.
“Myths and legends surrounding elder share a theme of death, evil and bad omens, stemming from a common medieval belief referenced in 14th century literature that Judas died hanging from an elder branch. It was also believed that the Cross of Calvary, on which Jesus was crucified, was made from elder, making it an emblem of sorrow. It was thought that if you burnt elder wood, you would see the Devil and if you planted it by your house, it would keep him away.”
Millie Williams - Our native trees: A resource for all
(Used in this way - and with due credit given, quotes can be a great way to summarise a blog’s content at the start or end of it)
“Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity”- John Muir, Our National Parks, from Emma Tegg’s blog ‘The role of nature in promoting good mental health’
Play the devil’s advocate, appearing to agree with the opposite of your beliefs before spinning it back around. You don’t have to do this U-turn in a single paragraph but can do it after several paragraphs against your point of view.
Make your writing more colourful by adding adjectives, or swapping out ‘boring’ words for more interesting ones.
Below, I swapped the word ‘monitor’ with ‘keep a pulse’ and added in ‘voracious’“From day one, there was much to do. Skokholm is home to a voracious top predator: the Great Black-backed Gull. These have become increasingly rare nationally so it is essential to keep a pulse on their breeding and survival rates.”
Tristian Herbert - A week on Skokholm
(This can be particular useful for making factual blogs, such as the Policy ones, more colourful)
Use your own personal experiences to show connection to what you are writing about
“As a student, have you ever wondered how to make that big leap from academic learning into the real world of conservation? I know I have.”
Matthew Hopes - Why Working with 9Trees Can Benefit You- A Student Perspective for Students
To help structure your article, consider using sub-headings or lists, as with this one.
Remember!
The hints and tips are here to give you inspiration.
There are no hard-and-fast rules; for example, a factual-type article will benefit more from sub-headings than vivid imagery etc.
So use your intuition and find your voice!
We hope this was helpful but if you have any questions,
please email us at info@9trees.org