Chapter 5: Complex Story Types
Your next assignment will allow you more freedom than you
have had on your previous assignments—and more responsibility.
You’ll have a chance to get creative—but that means you are expected
to be creative.
For your next story, you will have to come up with your own
story idea and pitch it to the class for their approval. The story pitch or
proposal is a common part of the journalistic process.
You will need to read the Detroit Free Press’s page on
TheStoryPitch (http://www.freep.com/jobspage/toolkit/pitch.htm)
to discover how to do an effective pitch (and remember, you’ll have to do it
in front of the whole class on Tuesday, so be prepared).
You have tried out the inverted pyramid structure in the
Fulbright story, and your interview story gave you some experience in trying to
focus and organize a story. For
this story, you will probably need to use multiple sources, and you will
definitely need to consider the various options you have when it comes to
structuring your story.
In addition to the inverted pyramid, you have the choice of
narrative and hourglass structure as well (read this link, http://www.courses.vcu.edu/ENG-jeh/BeginningReporting/Writing/storystructure.htm, for an explanation of the three story structures). I encourage you to use narrative structure, or some
combination of narrative and expository structure, for this story.
Narrative vs. expository structure
The inverted pyramid is an expository structure—that is,
it is a logical ordering of facts. However,
it’s also possible to write stories using narrative structure.
In narration, you tell a story, usually
using some version of chronological order.
In expository stories, you start with the most important facts. In narrative writing, you use the techniques of storytelling,
including creating scenes, using foreshadowing and producing dialogue.
The key to deciding what structure to use will come from
your planning process. You will
have at least two distinct planning stages.
You will plan the story before you go out to do the
reporting. In this stage, you will
plan the story you want to write. This
planning stage will give you the chance to figure out what sources you will need
to consult in order to produce the story.
You will also plan the story again AFTER you do the
interviews and fact-gathering. In
all truth, the story you get may be very different from the story you intended.
You will need to be flexible; don’t twist your information to make it
suit the story structure you originally intended; instead, be prepared to
reconstruct the story to accommodate what your sources have revealed.
For some good information on how to go about structuring,
planning, and executing your story, go to http://www.freep.com/jobspage/academy/blundell.htm. I will be giving you some handouts from Mr. Blundell’s book to help you
through this planning and execution of your story.
Narrative and hybrid structures
You may well decide to incorporate some level of narrative
in your story, either by writing a story that is totally narrative-based or by
combining some narrative elements (anecdotes and narrative examples) with a more
expository structure.
I want you to read the Detroit Free Press’s introduction to narrative stories, and their site devoted to the terms used during narrative writing. These sites will give you a good introduction to the narrative option:
http://www.freep.com/jobspage/academy/drake98.htm
Nice intro to writing narrative stories
http://www.freep.com/jobspage/academy/drakegloss.htm
Terms in narrative writing—Free Press site
The hybrid structure is easier to do, especially in the
context of the relatively short stories one must right for The Georgetonian.
The story telling elements allow you to engage the reader with drama,
foreshadowing and compelling anecdotes, but you aren’t committed to the
full-length “story” structure.
If you do a fully narrative story, you may need to make it
a little longer in order to accommodate all the elements of a good story.
You will need to ask enough questions to get reasonably accurate dialog.
Dialog in such stories is generally reconstructed from one
participant’s memory of what was said; in your selection of point of view, you
will be indicating who served as the source of the dialog.
Examples of narrative structure: http://www2.sptimes.com/Angels_Demons/default.html
Example of hybrid structure:
The conclusion to narrative and hybrid structures
One significant difference between the inverted pyramid
structure and these more narrative structures comes at the end of the story.
In the inverted pyramid, I told you NOT to write a conclusion—to just
“stop.” In the inverted
pyramid, the idea is that the last paragraphs should be able to be simply lopped
off the story without it hurting the coherence or readability of the story.
In these more complex story structures, you will need to have an ending,
something that ties the story together (perhaps a summary of the story’s
theme, or a tie-back to the story’s lead).
Other approaches
Another story type you can consider is something known as
“service journalism.” In service journalism, the story is attempting to
present useful information in a useable, concise way.
You will select a topic and ask yourself, “What does my reader need to
know in order to act?” Sample
service journalism topics could be such things as “How to manage credit-card
debt” or “Ways to stay healthy and slim when eating caf food.” Service journalism stories are often designed differently
from other stories; they often include informational graphics and fact boxes, as
well as such techniques as bullet points and subheads that clearly organize
useful information.
Examples of service journalism:
http://www.kentucky.com/mld/heraldleader/living/people/6733820.htm
(I'm in the process of looking for some other examples--try
back.)
Review for your AP Quiz: plurals and
possessives
Suggested reading:
Links
to journalism resources