A、They focus on writing in the modern society. B、They emphasize on information explosion. C、They tell writers’ feeling about wri

Moderator:
    Hello, ladies and gentlemen. It gives me great pleasure to introduce our speaker for today’s lecture, Dr. Mike Williamson. Dr. Williamson, professor of literature at University of Pennsylvania, has written numerous articles and books on the issues about writing, especially in the modern society, where loads of information pops out anytime and anywhere. Dr. Williamson:
    Thank you for that introduction. I feel honored to give a speech here. It’s hard enough to find the motivation to work. When you have to worry about concentration and creativity on top of that, things can get pretty awkward.
    Nowadays, with tons of information available at the touch of a button, creating the right kind of content can make all the difference for someone trying to gain more customers or readers. A lot of writers and bloggers are fully aware of this, but have a problem finding something worth writing about.
    What if I told you that it is more about how to write for people, than it is about the actual content? People will rarely sift (详查) through blocks upon blocks of monotonous text, even if it holds all the answers that they need. You need to engage them. Sell your story. Why is writing style so important? And how do you develop a great style that people will eat up? The Internet is all about sharing great content, and the competition is tough. As people a bit more qualified than me have already pointed out, content that is relatively good and original has become the norm—it’s no longer the ultimate goal to strive for. The competition is just too tough, and people always have a few other browser tabs to go to if your writing can’t draw them in within the first ten or so seconds. However, when even the broadest topics have been covered ad nauseam, you can’t really hope to create something totally unique. I know—I’ve been there myself many times.
    There is, however, some hope. Desperate writers have been using the old "everything worth writing about has already been written" line since Ancient Egyptian times. And yet good literature is still alive and kicking thousands of years later. This is because it’s more about the common themes and emotions, told with different words and through a prism (棱镜) of a unique worldview. People will be drawn to the same life drama as they always were—hope, dignity, overcoming adversity, just reward and poetic justice are the kind of things that rile up a crowd—but it’s up to you to find a good way to talk about them.
    You have to pull the readers in right from the start. You can say what you want about Hollywood’s tendency to hire hack writers, cannibalize original stories and rush their scripts, but some of them really know how to hook their viewers. Choosing the right niche and topic is still important, as you want to write what you know. But you mustn’t get bogged down in the details. The first paragraph has to give the reader a taste of what is to come, and really sell your content.
    So have you got any questions up to now? Don’t hesitate to ask me.
    Questions 16 to 19 are based on the recording you have just heard.
    16. What does the introduction say about Dr. Williamson’s articles and books?
    17. What does the speaker say about the current situation in terms of reading?
    18. What do we know about good and original content?
    19. What does the speaker say about literature today?