Today, the subject of my attention was a radio piece on ALS and an article about a man who writes postcards to strangers from his home in Maine (both pieces from the Salt Institute). Or at least, those are the topics of the two pieces.
What I learned today was possibly the most essential tool that should be used not only for journalistic purposes, but for any piece of writing: personals and emotions, the heart of the story. It's human nature to connect with stories on a personal level. It's important to the writer to bring out the emotional conflicts of a story as to pull in the reader and bring them down to a level they can connect on, while simultaneously providing a window of information that will open eyes and broaden perspectives.
These intriguing moments of a piece come from the details. Personal relationships belonging to the subject, their past, the environment they reside in; little anecdotes that may seem to stray from the topic but have overall influenced the story into what it is. These miniature stories within the larger picture make the reader feel like they can relate to what the author is conveying.
Good, it also might help you later as you write your own to quickly outline the structure these two stories shared. That way you can apply it to your piece.
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ps- like the title.
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