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CoSIDA.com/CoSIDA360 Magazine Archive
Note: This story appeared in the Winter 2021 February edition of CoSIDA 360 Magazine. To view the full magazine, click here.
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Writing Well for Storytelling Success
by David Kiefer – Stanford University, Executive Editorial Producer
A long-time CoSIDA member from Stanford University, Kiefer is an annual district and national Fred Stabley Sr. Writing Contest winner. He pens this advice on writing strategies and techniques to enhance your storytelling skills as you prepare content for features, video/digital stories, web posts, previews and recaps.
With the amount of writing in our industry, we have alarmingly little editing oversight and that impairs our opportunities for self-improvement. However, our writing is more important than ever as local media outlets diminish and are unable to tell our stories as they once did, shifting the responsibility to us.
That’s why we have an obligation to improve, because modern quick-glance communication such as social media and infographics cannot substitute for the impact of a well-written story.
Recaps
Recaps are the backbone of what we do, so let’s start there:
- Learn the ‘inverted pyramid’ approach: The most important information is presented first. The who, what, when, where and why appear at the start of a story, followed by supporting details and background information.
- Make sure the final score is the first score listed. Not something like, “USC trailed 24-20 before scoring a touchdown to win …”
- Avoid chronological order. If you find yourself going this direction, stop. It’s better to have a short recap with a summary of important facts than monotonous play-by-play that a reader never finishes.
- Only use a quote if it’s original or provides insight. Delete any quote referring to a “team win” or other clichés. If you’ve heard it before, don’t use it.
- Re-read the draft and remove unnecessary words, including ones that clutter a quote, such as “I think,” or “like” as long as it doesn’t change the meaning.
- Include overall and conference win-loss records, but not in the lead paragraph.
- To summarize, include key information — score, a name, crucial play, and significance — in the lead: “Maverick Handley smacked a three-run triple to right in the seventh for the go-ahead runs in Stanford’s 11-9 victory over Arizona at Sunken Diamond on Friday, lifting the Cardinal into second place in the Pac-12 baseball race.”
Feature Writing
Features are less formulaic. A lot of trust goes into a feature. The subject trusts that the writer will respect their story and tell it in the proper tone. If trauma is shared, the writer must know where to stop before it becomes exploited and gratuitous.
A synchronized swimmer with depression described standing in front of a mirror transfixed by the blood dripping down her arm from a cut she inflicted on herself. She gave me permission to include it in a story about how she overcame mental-health challenges to earn a Stanford degree. Ultimately, I avoided specific mention. I couldn’t shake the idea of a potential future employer getting hung up on that scene, even as it related to a positive outcome in her journey.
In a profile of a Black thrower on the women’s track and field team who identifies as genderqueer and uses ‘they’ and ‘them’ pronouns, I did describe trauma — racist, homophobic and otherwise. Being spit upon by kids during a playground ‘game’ was one. The thrower was clear these should be included.
I encourage pushing the envelope. The reason I wrote about an athlete with depression is because there are many like her. By bringing it to light, maybe purposeful change could come out of it.
A genderqueer athlete? There are probably LGBTQ+ student-athletes and staff on every team. Why can’t we talk about it? To be clear, I sought the approval of coaches and administrators first. Each read the draft. If any raised a red flag, the story would have died. But none did, and the story was powerful and impactful.
Similarly, the creation of a Black student-athlete group in the wake of the George Floyd killing provided an opportunity to address Stanford’s history with race. Administration approved the story, which provided an honest look at the athletic department’s past and hope for the future.
Look deeper than statistics. Each person’s story can be framed by moments and scenes. Find a beginning, middle and end, and tell it that way. And there doesn’t need to be a tidy resolution. Be honest.
Think of moments as turning points. A basketball player hid her alopecia, an autoimmune disease that causes hair loss. In fighting for a rebound, her wig fell off, exposing bald patches on her head. Embarrassed and humiliated, she considered dashing off the court. Instead, she tossed the wig aside and continued to play, a turning point in accepting her condition.
Stories can be discovered through athletes, coaches, SIDs, academic advisors and social media. Social posts allowed me to discover that the women’s lightweight rowing team raised money for a food bank with an erg marathon, and that a sailor saved hundreds of jobs by converting his father’s printing business into a maker of personal protective equipment.
The stories are out there, pandemic or not. And when you find one, don’t ‘write’ it, ‘tell’ it. In other words, it’s not on you to create a good story. Just get out of the way. A good story tells itself.
Writing For Video
There are similarities between written and video stories, which share some of the same steps. The following is a process toward writing for video.
- The starting point: Consider first where you want the video to go and how to express those thoughts to your audience. In other words, what is the goal and the intended value? Once established, summarize the story in a sentence or two. This will help keep the piece focused.
- Plan your script: Create an outline with a narrative arc. Make sure your video is going to tell a story with a beginning, middle and end, all while pointed toward a specific goal.
- Write conversationally: A good script makes it easy for the people on camera to get their messages across while sounding and acting naturally. The script should be comfortable for the narrator, in manner and style. Keep sentences short and crisp and avoid compound sentences, if possible.
- Script every word: Avoid jotting down bullet points and trying to wing it on camera. Preparation is key. If it’s a short video, make the script short, like 1-2 pages. You want the video to be succinct, engaging, and to allow for a simple editing process.
- Read it out loud: Do this at least once before recording. Even if someone else will be the voice, this helps to make sure the message flows. Words in print don’t always sound the same when spoken. Smooth it out with a couple of reads out loud and adjust accordingly.
- Get feedback: Once completed and read out loud, the script may be improved with feedback. Ask someone not involved in the process to do so and make some final adjustments before filming.
Links from Stanford Pandemic-era Stories:
Lessons in Resilience (Track & Field alum LaShawndra Pace/Biden transition team)
United in One (Treyjohn Butler, football)
It Takes a Village (Naomi Girma, women’s soccer)
Hero for Life (Lacrosse and women’s soccer alums/Ruth Bader Ginsburg)
Biohacker (Jordan Greenberg, men’s swimming)
Different Paths, Same Destination (Graduating student-athletes on value of Stanford degree)
Playing with a Purpose (Teaghan Cowles, softball)
Together While Apart (women’s lightweight rowing, virtual erg marathon)
Talk about these stories on the
CoSIDA Slack Community.