how do they write new articles/talk outlines?

by poor places 8 Replies latest jw friends

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  poor places

  It really makes you wonder. I mean, they're all pretty interchangeable, aren't they? Nobody would've guessed that today's special talk was new; it could've been replaced by about fifty other talks without anyone catching on. Can you imagine being a writer faced with the challenge of making new 20-paragraph articles, all of which have already been written? How do they even do it without falling asleep?

  It's funny. A couple of years ago I got so excited when they unveiled the new "study edition" of the Watchtower. I thought that something new might be on the way. Little did I know that the only new feature would be scriptures in italics. The new articles are interchangeable with the old ones. And each meeting is interchangeable with the one that came before, unless someone breaks the mold and says something new. If it wasn't for the unique nature of each person alive, I suppose that the Watchtower would make people interchangeable too. But one size doesn't fit all, and that's where the Watchtower fails.

  It's sad because there are some very talented speakers in my hall. Imagine if they could speak as they want to speak!
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  tenyearsafter

  Poor Places -

  I often wondered the same things...then I realized that "perception is reality", especially in the JW world. If you say it is "new", then it must be, because anything the WTS says is true and to be accepted at face value. It is the same way the JW mind blocks out logic that flies in the face of what they are taught as a JW. It is part of mind control techniques, and as such, the pattern will remain the same until broken by some eye opening experience...
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  blondie

  Cut and paste. My husband said that there are some talks that are essentially the same 5 or 6 of them. Talks come from special talk outlines, used that year and then put into the mix. Some talks have "old light" and may or may not be updated officially. Some of them had quotes from WT publications that were 15 years old and out of date.
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  scotinsw

  It's sad because there are some very talented speakers in my hall. Imagine if they could speak as they want to speak!

  You used to get a bit more of it when talks were 45 minut but when they reduced the time to 30 minutes using the same outlines it made it a bit more difficult for the speaker to talk freely and bring in other information.

  Of course, if people were able to speak as they wanted to who knows what they would come out with. Heaven forbit! they might show some independent thinking!
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  Mad Sweeney

  Today was the special talk? Wow, I REALLY AM a fader now!!! I totally did NOT KNOW that! I'm so proud.
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  AK - Jeff

  It was a 'special' talk, since I missed it and didn't even know about it.

  I hate meat in due season.

  Jeff
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  sir82

  I think some sections of articles really are, literally, cut-n-paste from articles from years past. I seem to recall seeing on this site, some time in the murky past, clips from the WT-CD of study articles published years apart but containing whole paragraphs of identical wording.
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  WTWizard

  The actual outline is exactly the same--all articles and talks (and books) use it. Start with Adam and Eve "sinning", build up to the ransom, include a few Old Testament examples of people that were supposedly faithful (and a few that were not, just so you can threaten others for not being obedient to the Filthful and Disgraceful Slavebugger), and lead up to the ransom. Add a few scriptures from Paul, bring it to today, claim that very soon Armageddon is coming, there will be 1,000 years to grow to perfection, the final test, and then being allowed to live forever. That is the real outline--everything else has to fit some part of it.

  And, once I figured out that outline, everything was boring. That was the common denominator--and, as further repetition of my times tables was a complete waste of time once I figured out how to construct them, further attendance of boasting sessions was a complete waste of my time once I figured out this common denominator. Most of the remainder was about doing away with personal activity to pio-sneer, staying away from fornication and apostasy, and not missing boasting sessions. Hardly worth the time and trouble.
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  Bangalore

  I guess there has been a bit of dumbing down over the years though. Not just the talks but the publications as well.

  Bangalore