WRITE NOW

Writing against a deadline can drain creativity. Don’t let it. Do this instead. Kick writer’s block to the curb by talking your way through the first draft of your story.

Imagine telling the story to a trusted friend or family while recording yourself. When you enter an unfamiliar writing territory, it’s easy to get stuck. But storytelling is one of the oldest natural skills, dating back to the onset of speech. So, telling a story to an audience of one is the quickest way to get started. This trick helped me report live the highlights of events in moments. And then, I used the broadcast playback to write the story in detail for upcoming newscasts.

THE WRITE WAY?

Maybe you’ve landed a cover story for a popular magazine and want to write an article to tease your memoir or a travel memoir to share what you’ve learned during a recent sojourn. When you find this opportunity –here’s what you can do. Say yes to the assignment, even if you think you’re not talented enough to handle the task. If you’re up against a deadline, begin immediately.

Writing for the public is the one type of literature that stifles those trained to write in corporate or academic structures. There’s usually a corporate style guide for business writing or guidelines like MLA IEEE, APA, etc., for academic research papers. But for consumer-facing writing such as broadcasts, personal narratives, and creative non-fiction, there’s a loosely structured format to engage the public, not impress your colleagues, management, and C-suite executives. And the best part is you already have the tools to excel. You’ve used this skill since you first learned how to talk. So, showing your personality through your literary voice will draw the reader into your story. Therefore, be mindful of your writing training and talent, but relax, play with language, have fun, and enjoy the storytelling journey.

WRITE FOR US.

At least, that’s what I told myself when I found myself in a similar situation. As I handed in “Coin Collector,” what I thought would be my only article for EBONY’s 2018 September fashion issue, the managing editor said she needed a local writer to do a three-thousand-word cover story on the HBO TV Show “Insecure” lead actor, producer and creator Issa Rae. This full-length feature would be the publication’s first on a rising star. The writing project would require a short turnaround to meet the publication’s deadline. Luckily, the editor believed in my talent and assigned the story to me. For the first time in my writing career, however, I was at a loss for words when I learned that I had less than two weeks to write a cover story for a major U.S. Magazine featuring one of the hottest show creators in Hollywood.

The journey got underway with one word – ok, maybe two, “COVER LINE.” She asked me to write a cover line for my story, and when I asked, “What is that,” I knew I was out of my depth.
Working as a Broadcast Radio/TV news reporter, I had to write stories in minutes. If I was lucky, I had a couple of hours. But with at least three live newscasts during every 8-hour shift, I had to gather interviews (or radio actualities), facts, and details, plus communicate with my videographer what type of A-roll,  B-roll (video) I wanted to use in my assigned stories. 
While doing this – I had to determine how the stories would resonate with the million viewers in The Ohio Valley.

THE WRITE ONE

Writing stories with an audience in mind became second nature –but it didn’t start out that way. I learned about my viewers through ratings, rantings, and complaint/compliment phone calls to the newsroom. As you write for the public, you’ll get feedback to create a profile of your audience. But initially, you’ll have to start with an audience of one. 

I learned the subtle differences between broadcast reporting and print from a Washington Post editor. He snubbed me at the NABJ (National Association of Black Journalists) career expo when I told him I wanted to transition into newspaper (periodical) writing. In hindsight, I’ve been writing for him ever since that fateful day. Well, it was nearly 20 years after making that pitch, and I was about to write the cover story for one of the oldest and largest circulated magazines. Although I was familiar with reading feature articles, I’d never written a cover story for a prominent commercial magazine. 

Like most professionals who struggle with imposter syndrome, I doubted my ability and was tempted to decline the assignment. Except it’s hard to say no when you are in the right place at the right time and opportunity is knocking. So, Instead, I shared my writing pain points with my editor, and she offered past articles that resonated with the magazine’s audience. She reviewed the format with me, and it helped kickstart my writing. I’ve tailored what I gleaned from those articles into this solution-based article for an audience of one – you. 

Of course, now I know a cover line is what you see on the front of a magazine. Glamour magazine had the best cover lines, such as “Top 10 Beauty Tricks” and “Beach Ready Body.”
Still, the assignment came with its own share of obstacles other than being unfamiliar with the format. Issa Rae was in Atlanta filming an unnamed project. The film was shrouded in secrecy, and producers closed the set to the public. I wasn’t cleared to go, so Issa Rae’s team scheduled a phone meeting during her lunch break – then canceled. The team rescheduled the interview twice. A seasoned print journalist could easily handle this minor setback. But the delay left me frazzled with only a week to finish and deliver the article before the production staff put the magazine to bed. (Prepared for printing.)

WRITE STUFF

The first time out, I found it difficult to write 3000 words about someone I had never met before and then only spoke with for about 40 minutes. What’s worse, I only saw the early version of “Insecure” on YouTube. And since I didn’t subscribe to HBO, I could only preview the first episode, as it was the only show available to a nonsubscriber. I had a lot of information, but writing requires intimacy –to reveal why your subject does what they do.   So, I would need to glean insights from all the data. I remember reading and waking up with the pen in my hand – with no memory of my last thought. Writing was unlike in broadcast when I could tell the story live at five and then clean it up for the 11 o’clock news. I only had one chance to get it right. 

I hurdled those obstacles by not waiting for the time and date; I wrote a cover line and headline to nail down my story’s theme. I quickly summarized the information into a nut graph before the production team finally scheduled the interview. 

“From “The Mis-Adventures of Awkward Black Girl” produced  in her dorm room to Emmy-nominated HBO television show “Insecure” Issa Rae is poised to create Hollywood in her own image.”

The nut graph allowed me to zero in on my message to the EBONY audience through anecdotal evidence that Issa Rae was more like the woman in the mirror on her HBO show “Insecure” than the character she played. EBONY’s audience was avid Insecure watchers. So, I shared with them the “woman in the mirror” was deliberate and confident, as is the actor who plays her. When I interviewed Issa Rae, I confirmed the information I gathered and asked questions to gain insight into new and exclusive info. I later discovered the film starring Issa Rae was Will Packer’s “Little,” also starring Regina Hall and Blackish star Marsai Martin. I handed in the article’s final draft with four days to spare, leaving time for editors to fact-check and for me to do any necessary rewrite.

And yes, the minor rewrite left me working into the wee hours of the morning. Again, I’d find myself nodding off and forgetting what I was doing. Other times, I’d be at the brink, ready to give up. Eventually, I got through the line edits. The only fact I couldn’t substantiate didn’t make the article stronger or more interesting, so my editor agreed to leave it out.   Once I finished my first cover story feature, I created a template. This template is for features that require a short turnaround time. I also use it when unfamiliar with the subject and don’t want to spend much time collecting useless information. So, if you don’t have time to waste nor have any consumer-facing writing experience but want to quickly get started on your writing project, choosing your literary genre is The first hurdle to overcome.

WRITE ON

Currently, literary genres like personal memoirs like Prince Harry’s “Spare” and Travel Literature like Amazon bestseller “The Wager” seem to be surging in popularity. There’s also the fan-favorite Travel memoir “Eat, Pray, Love.” If you decide on a travel memoir, remember it is written from the traveler’s (protagonist) perspective and showcases sights, guides, obstacles, etc., they encounter and what they’ve learned. To give you an idea of how travel literature could read, think “Captain James Tiberius Kirk.” He kept a captain’s log, the guiding force of the show “Star Trek.” The writing style is narrative writing (anecdotal: who-where-when) – using my favorite format, the 3-act structure: (Plot, Characters, Conflict, and Theme). Within the 3-act structure, there’s the 8-point Story Arc (Stasis, Trigger, The Quest, Critical Choice, Climax, Reversal, Resolution, and Conclusion).

Note: use this structure as a guideline, not rules, to create the Travel Lit or memoir you envision.  

To get started, record yourself telling the story out loud to a trusted friend or family member. Once you have your rough draft of a minimum of 3000 words  –transcribe it. Remember, if an audience member likes your first paragraph, they will likely read the article. If you prepare a provocative feature, you will have given your audience a sneak peek into what they can expect from your memoir– and they will commit to finding out what’s in the rest of the story. 
Now comes formatting or outlining your story.

Come up with a cover line. Cover line: (3 words or less – attention-grabbing)

Pro-tip: Writing a cover line is the fastest way to get to the heart of your story. It forces you to jump right into storytelling instead of meandering. Even if you don’t need a cover line for your story,  you can use one to help you focus your information gathering. In broadcast news, we use cover lines as a “slug” for the news report – so we can find it in the news database.

Expand the cover line into a Headline (6 keywords or less summarizing the story.)
Next, extract a deck from your draft. Dek: (What’s this story about? 2-line provocative summary that invites the reader on a journey)
Followed with a story lede, Lede:  (Why we should care (emotional) who is the protagonist- what’s the obstacle to overcome? How will the protagonist solve it? Draw the reader in and get them invested in the story)  As a multimedia writer, I compare news Ledes to film Loglines. Logline: What did the protagonist get herself into (conflict), emotional hook, and how she will get out. Ex. “Brooklyn single mom haunted by apocalyptic visions maps out the hot zone coordinates given to her in a dream and joins Defense Intelligence to save humanity!“
Fifth on the list is the Nut Graph: (What was, what’s new, what’s now). A nut graph helps a writer shape the narrative. In a “nutshell,” the nut graph gives the audience an idea of the story. Is this the story angle? Would you feel confident with this as a story synopsis – such as a TL;DR (Too long, didn’t read)?

WRITE FOR YOU AND THE PUBLIC

The theme or angle of your travel memoir is personal. Only you know what makes this experience important. As the producer of this literature, however, you must also consider what delivers mass appeal. Or, at the very least, a hook (think emotional issue) and plot an account that will appeal to your audience. No matter what I write, my key and every writer’s mission is to connect with their audience. Writers produce entertaining media that solves problems. Even a travel memoir provides awareness of emotional growth to the audience. I created a story skeleton with the 5 Ws and a How to best use my limited time with every story assignment. Answering those questions helped me quickly get to the point of the story. Once you start with just the facts, you can determine what to include to support your theme instead of deciding what to edit, cut out, or eliminate entirely. Then, prepare to write the body using the mono-myth format.  

Body: (Tell the rest of the story elaborating on the journey)

ACT 1 (Ordinary World)

Ordinary World (stasis) – Ordinary before life abruptly changes.
Call to adventure – Trigger. Comfort zone disrupted.
Refusal of the Call – The protagonist refuses the journey.
Meeting with the Mentor – Enter the wise counselor to advise the protagonist.
Crossing the Threshold (the quest) – The journey begins; the protagonist enters a new world.

ACT II (Special World)

Tests. Allies. Enemies – The protagonist faces the unknown in a new world.
Approach to Inmost Cave – Battles with their shadow self, doubts, and fears.
Ordeal (critical choice) – Rites of Passage. Supreme test. Survival is in question.
Reward (Seizing the Sword)– If the protagonist survives, they get the prize.

ACT III (Ordinary World)

The Road Back (Reversal) – (Opportunity arises which may have the protagonist retreat to the easy path – Or Not.) If the protagonist wants to return with the prize, they must risk it all.
Resurrection (Climax) –The final battle. The protagonist must defeat death.
Return with Elixir (Resolution) –The protagonist returns home but is physically, mentally, or spiritually changed.

Conclusion: Circle Back to the Beginning C/T/V C/T/A When approaching your topic, trust what you know. Confirmation and fact-checking come later in the process.

So, once again– How to jumpstart your customer-facing writing project.

1. Imagine you are telling your story aloud to a trusted friend or family member.
2. Select a literary genre familiar to your audience. If you don’t know your audience, write for an audience of one. i.e., the one person who has benefitted from your expertise and enjoyed your past writings.
3. Decide on a writing format/style that complements your literary genre. For example, narrative writing – three-act structure, eight-point story arc.
4. Develop a writing prompt by creating a cover line/headline and story hook to address your audience’s needs.
5. Select a story angle/theme.
6. Prepare a nut graph to shape your narrative.
7. Reflect on the 5 Ws and How. Create a story skeleton. Your answers will reveal (to you) how much you already know about your topic.
8. You have all you need to write a rough draft. Don’t worry about edits, fact-checking, or word count at this stage.

The goal is to get that story out of your head and into print.

By Mel Hopkins Copyright 2023 Mel Hopkins All Rights Reserved