Story structure

How to write transitions: cliffhangers

External transitions move readers from section to section

Talk about a transition. Here’s how author Erik Larson ends one chapter of Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America:

“‘Would the thin rods (of the first Ferris wheel) be sufficient to sustain not only the enormous weight of the structure and that of the 2,000 passengers who might chance to be in the cars, but the pressure of the wind as well?’

… Read the full article

How to write a transition sentence

Avoid transitional clichés

Transitions can be hard to write. Maybe that’s why we keep turning back to these hackneyed transitions, listed in a Poynter Institute forum:

Let’s pause and ponder that for a minute too.… Read the full article

How do you write a good transition?

Internal transitions make your message flow smoothly

Internal, or small, transitions move your copy from paragraph to paragraph, from sentence to sentence, from idea to idea.… Read the full article

Why it’s important to write good transitions

‘Signal words’ help readers follow along

“Signal words” — aka transitions — are the narrative glue that helps readers see what’s coming next, understand your whole message and see how the parts fit together (Herber, 1978).… Read the full article

Hybrid organizational structures in writing

Hourglasses, spirals, oranges and more

“When you have news, report it,” advises Roy Peter Clark, Poynter Institute senior scholar. “When you have a story, tell it.”… Read the full article

Background tops the types of feature story leads to avoid

Don’t start with the blah blah blah

The background might be an important component of your story. After all, the readers might need some of the following elements to fully understand your story:

A definition
A short description of a key concept
A one-paragraph history of the subject
Additional facts or details that give context to the story or “prove” your point

Background comes third

But readers don’t need this material first.… Read the full article

What’s the best news release structure?

Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston nails the feature

It was a good story: More than 1,000 New Englanders would soon have safe, decent, affordable places to live, thanks to the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston’s Affordable Housing Program.… Read the full article

What’s the best intranet-article writing structure?

‘From Tina Turner to Taylor Swift’

When Ian Jones needed to craft a — yawn! — diversity story for employees at Columbia Gas of Virginia, his first instinct was to go with a fact pack.… Read the full article