Here’s to better writing in the New Year
My favorite writing quote? Ever?
Storytelling
Find the aha! moment for storytelling
Ask When questions & other tools
Call it an aha! moment:
Alone in his laboratory on a snowy evening the week before Christmas, Dr. John Monnier observed unexpected peaks on the readout of his gas chromatograph.
… Read the full article Motivation an element of storytelling
Find your character’s ‘I wish’ song
“Funny Girl” starts with Barbara Streisand wishing to be a star.
“My Fair Lady” opens with Julie Andrews wishing for a room somewhere.… Read the full article
Storytelling structure: Use chronology
Transform real-life events into narrative arcs with this storytelling template
Beginning, middle, end: A chronological approach is the best way to organize most nonfiction narratives.
That’s the formula Ira Glass uses for the popular National Public Radio program “This American Life.”… Read the full article
Get your hands dirty
Human interest for all topics
It seems so reasonable to tell human-interest stories to illustrate the need for bone-marrow transplants, the sad results of texting while driving — even solutions for childhood obesity.… Read the full article
Metaphor at work
6 reasons analogy is more persuasive than literal language
Metaphor is more persuasive than literal language: It’s been proven in the lab.
Make that 41 labs over more than 50 years.… Read the full article
Turn policies and procedures into people
Human interest helps fight the 7 dreary P’s
Call them the seven dreary P’s: programs, plans, policies, procedures, protocols, positions and products.
Bring these mind-numbing topics to life by turning them into an eighth P: people.… Read the full article
Serial monogamy
Why have people fallen in love with this podcast?
It’s been compared to The Sopranos. Before its debut, it ranked No. 1 on iTunes. When its first season was over, fans couldn’t remember what people do who aren’t listening to it.… Read the full article
How small is small?
Mini narratives can be as brief as a paragraph
In The Emperor of All Maladies, Siddhartha Mukherjee shares this tiny tale:
“In 2005, a man diagnosed with multiple myeloma asked me if he would be alive to watch his daughter graduate from high school in a few months.… Read the full article
Use ‘narrative shorthand’
Squeeze a big life into a small space
How do you pack a large life into a tight space?
Try a “pocket profile.” That’s the technique Anjelica Huston used to describe her great-great-great grandfather in her new memoir, A Story Lately Told:
“… a prospector, John Gore, who started up several newspapers from Kansas to New York.… Read the full article