News is boring. We’ll never keep readers awake by just telling what happened.
Someone we don’t know was in a car accident. Not a big deal, because we read about that every day. But if we were there, hearing the tires squeal, looking up to see a rusted-out pickup rear-end a silver Mercedes, we immediately want to know if anyone was hurt. The baby is crying as Mom frantically unbuckles the car seat. You call 9-1-1.
To make your story engaging, you must make it personal. How do you do that? Don’t allow yourself to write from the perspective of an observer or a reporter. Write as if you are involved in the action. You want to be there, dialing 9-1-1. Better yet, you’re the man in the pickup, who is driving without a license and had too much to drink. Or you’re the mom who is worried about her son and daughter, giving no thought to the car.
An observer would give details about the weather, the red-light camera that contributed to the accident, and the condition of the vehicles. But the story has to change when the perspective is the mom or the man involved in the accident. What are Mom’s concerns? What is the man worried about? To make your story personal, the important details are only those of your point-of-view character.
Don’t step outside of your story and simply talk about it. Stand inside of it and live it again. — Kelly Swanson, Award-Winning Storyteller
