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Story structures

Story structures. Using familiar approaches to report new information. Assembling reports. Some story structures are used often. Readers familiar with them. Easy to use and comfortable. Time tested. They work. Sometimes, it’s best to break the rules of these formats.

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Story structures

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  1. Story structures Using familiar approaches to report new information

  2. Assembling reports • Some story structures are used often. • Readers familiar with them. • Easy to use and comfortable. • Time tested. • They work. • Sometimes, it’s best to break the rules of these formats. • The story should dictate the approach.

  3. Inverted pyramid • The most basic. • Everyone is familiar with it. • Dates from the Civil War era, or even earlier. • Is it relevant today? Why or why not?

  4. Narrative structure • Telling a story. • Allows reporter more creativity. • Uses detail, dialogue, observation. • Foreshadowing – tell readers a bit about what is coming. • We are a visual society. Paint a picture in the reader’s mind with the words you choose.

  5. Show, don’t tell • Gather information with all your senses – sight, smell, touch, hearing. • Experience it for your readers. • Describe that experience. • Don’t tell readers a subject is funny or angry (that comes off as opinion.) • Show readers through description, quotes, anecdotes, interesting details.

  6. Dialogue • Quotes – direct and indirect. • Lets the subject of your story speak directly to readers. • We get a flavor for how the person talks and acts. • Be careful if you haven’t directly witnessed dialogue. It’s best to avoid re-creating direct quotes. Paraphrase.

  7. Anecdotes • A story within your report – anecdote. • Can be about the source, or told by the source/subject of the story. • Can inform and entertain, or provide insight into the subject of the story. • Ask source for an example or about an experience to elicit anecdotes.

  8. Focus structure • Using one person or family’s circumstances to illustrate a larger issue. • Lead and first couple paragraphs describe the situation, specific to that person or family. • Examples: Foreclosures, health issues, manufacturer closing.

  9. Focus structure (cont.) • After the feature intro, we transition to a nut graph. • This paragraph summarizes the issue at the heart of the story. • Foreshadowing – what else are we going to find out by continuing to read?

  10. Focus structure (cont.) • So what – With foreshadowing, often we get a sentence or two that tells us why the readers should care, how this applies to their lives. • To be sure – what are other aspects/sides to the story?

  11. The body of the story • Use anecdotes, scenes, observations and dialogue to add color, weight and emphasis to the facts. • As with every story, move smoothly from one point to the next.

  12. The ending • Unlike the inverted pyramid, these other structures don’t necessarily stop when we run out of key facts. • Ending is planned to give the reader a feeling of completeness.

  13. The ending, part II • Circle – End the story in the same place it began. • Good quote or anecdote – could summarize the story. Or it could play off the main theme or topic. • A good wrap-up. • Don’t end with a summary that includes an opinion.

  14. Back to the start! • Write a great lead. Always, but especially on feature stories. • Don’t pack it too full. Let it breathe. You can put other stuff in the rest of the story. • Draw the reader in – be creative.

  15. Names • It’s OK to use a person’s name in the lead in a feature-type story. • It’s similar to an introduction. You are introducing the person to the reader.

  16. Second person leads • Using “you.” • You may want to avoid walking across campus Tuesday.Workers are digging several large holes for a series of tree plantings. • OK to use, sparingly. Third person is the approach we use most, the one readers are most familiar with.

  17. Contrast leads • A good lead can contrast something commonly accepted with something surprising or unusual. • Captures interest right away. • EX. It took John Jones 24 years to become a police officer. It took him 38 days to die.

  18. Leads to avoid • Direct quotes – we have no context for who is speaking or what is being said. • You can build a lead off an interesting direct quote, though. • One sentence intro, then the quote in the second paragraph. • For example …

  19. New development doesn’t upset Bill Smith. The location of a new development does.“I’ve enjoyed winding down on my back porch for the past 37 years, reflecting on the trees out back. Now they are going to put a big box where those trees should be. It’s not right.”

  20. More leads to avoid • Question leads – Stories should answer questions, not raise them. • Definition leads – From the dictionary. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. • Cliches - It’s a small word. Breathe a sigh of relief. The family only wanted the American dream. He searched high and low.

  21. Another lead to avoid • Topic lead – Tell the reader what the news is, not the topic of the story. • EX. Shepherd village commissioners met Monday and discussed several issues. • BORING and pointless. • Better …

  22. Tax rates in Shepherd may need to increase due to state cutbacks, village commissioners were told Monday. • You can avoid topic leads by avoiding:- Discussed.- Told how.- Considered.- Talked about. • Focus on the action.

  23. Questions?

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