(Minghui.org) Recently Minghui announced the “Call for Submissions to Commemorate the Twentieth Anniversary of Falun Dafa's Introduction.” This call for papers, at the time of the 20th anniversary of Dafa spreading throughout the world, is of great significance. I would like to share my understanding on how to write better articles to clarify the truth, so that they can be more effective in validating the Fa to save sentient beings.
1. Write Articles That Can Be Included in Truth-Clarification Brochures
Besides Minghui.org, our main platforms for clarifying the truth to sentient beings (in China) include various truth-clarifying newsletters and brochures. Their role in saving sentient beings is the most direct and efficient. Articles on exposing the persecution are relatively abundant, but articles of practitioners validating that Dafa is good for the mind and body are relatively few in comparison.
There are many practitioners who benefit physically, mentally, and morally from practicing Falun Dafa. Almost every practitioner has personal experiences along these lines. The key is to write articles about these experiences and use them in saving sentient beings.
2. Have a Clear Theme and Focus on One Story in Each Article
Some practitioners fall into the habit of going on and on when writing articles. From obtaining the Fa, to benefiting from Dafa, to being persecuted, with a smattering of experience sharing. The stories are wonderful, but not always usable for validating the Fa.
For example, an elderly practitioner had his cancer cured after cultivating in Falun Dafa. He suffered persecution and had a lot of experiences to share from his cultivation. The contents of one article could include the following: how cancer was causing physical and psychological suffering, as well as economic losses, for him and his family before he began to practice Falun Dafa; how he obtained the Fa; the changes he experienced when his body was purified after reading Zhuan Falun and doing the exercises; and the reactions from his family members and others. Explaining these clearly would make a very practical and powerful article for validating the Fa.
3. Consider the Interest of Everyday People When Telling a Story
One of our goals is to get everyday people to read our articles, so we have to keep them in mind. How do we pick the title or start the story from the perspective of what they are interested in? We can find similar points of interest in every case, just like telling a story.
Many practitioners can write beautiful articles from different angles and in different forms that are easily accepted by everyday people. We should learn from them.
4. Explore a Variety of Topics That Validate Dafa
Here are some topics for reference:
Physical benefits
Improvement in a student's academic performance
Creating family harmony
Career success
Moral improvement
Getting rid of bad habits
The whole family benefits when one person practices Dafa
Doing good deeds after practicing Dafa
How practice sites were formed during the initial spreading of Dafa
Using one or two examples to illustrate how Dafa was spread by word of mouth
Touching stories of practitioners' sacrifice to tell people the facts
Stories reflecting the great compassion and forbearance of Dafa practitioners during persecution
5. Great Significance, Undeniable Responsibility
Opportunities like this are getting fewer and fewer. I hope that we can tell as many stories about our benefiting from Dafa as possible, in order to save sentient beings. This is our undeniable responsibility.
The above is my personal understanding. Let us devote our full attention to this call for papers.
Some Thoughts on Minghui's Recent Call for Papers: An Experience Sharing on Writing Truth-Clarification Articles
April 05, 2012 | By Yang Qing