Editorial writing, at least at the Snapper, is the hardest style of writing that the paper does. I am sure our readers notice that there is not a lot of variety in the writing staff for the Opinion section. 

With my writing I like to let my readers know my opinion, I would like to think, and I want to extend that skill to other writers at Millersville and the Snapper. I am not going to be here forever at Snapper. Editorial writing is a key skill that writers need to have, but I fear that they do not. It is a harder way to write because of the writer putting themselves and their opinions out there, which I know can be scary. Various writers have never attempted the craft of editorial writing. 

The biggest advice I have for potential opinion writers is to not be afraid of writing. It is likely that another person has the same opinion as you. Your writing influences them to voice their opinions. Writing opinions is a great way to engage in civil debate as well. We all have our own views; being able to discuss them civilly is a great skill.

I have voiced my viewpoints a lot through the Snapper and I feel that it has made me better at debating and asserting myself. 

Traits of the editorial writer

Assertiveness is a trait that I believe all editorial writers should have. Strength in your convictions is an important way to inspire confidence in your writing. As well as your readers. Writing an opinion on a topic that you are not invested in will lead to a bad article. A wheelhouse is essential here. Wheelhouses are a topic of writing that you are comfortable in. As well as a subject that you are versed in and have sustainable knowledge about. That topic, for myself, is autism, Star Wars, and liberally slanted political pieces.

Autism is a topic because I am autistic myself and I can give a good perspective in the journalism world on autism. Star Wars is because I love Star Wars and it is a topic that I enjoy greatly. A lot of my articles are about Star Wars and some of my Star Wars articles, in my opinion, are my best articles.

No, not politics!

Political opinions are inevitable and I had reservations about writing them for a long time. It took about a year for me to get over that hurdle that I had.

Donald Trump is in the white house; I had to start writing political opinions. Being a journalist means that you have to be a guardian of the truth. I felt compelled by the Trump administration to start writing opinions on them.

This would have been regardless of my political affiliation. I am a democratic socialist. My political leaning makes my opinions pretty obvious. That being said, I believe that political opinions are necessary for any newspaper. This is for all political perspectives.

Editorial writing is hard and it is not for everyone, but I hope that this article has convinced some of my readers to write for the Opinion section for The Snapper. Opinion articles have been making impacts in the world as of late and I love that I am able to make my voice heard.