Write A Winner!
by Arlene Knickerbocker

The Winning Story

In a winning story the title turns heads, the first sentence seizes the attention of readers, the body holds their interest, and the conclusion leaves them satisfied. Format your story with subtitles and your articles with bullets and bold print. This looks less overwhelming than a lot of type running together.

• Audience Appeal Who will read what you write? Each story will appeal to a certain group of people. Consider the audience you want to target, because that will help you write so it appeals to those who will read it. Think how differently you would write in each of the following cases: personal journal, children’s picture book, travel magazine article, or science fiction novel.
  This is the age of information overload. Titles are crucial. A title must appeal, or people read no further. Create interest with your title, and don’t give away the punch line.
  The first sentence of your article or story is important, too. It has to leap off the page and grab readers. What does it offer readers? Information? Intrigue? Instruction?

• Be Concise Choose a few Velcro® words that stick with people rather than many words they won’t remember. Paint word pictures with illuminating nouns, vivid verbs, and a spattering of colorful adjectives.Using a descriptive noun means fewer adjectives and using a vivid verb means fewer adverbs. Example: He was looking out the window and saw a bird with a red breast. It must finally be spring. OR He watched some robins gathering nesting material. Winter had ended.
  General words versus specific words:

Show instead of telling.
Example: He was angry. OR He slammed the door.
Abstract versus concrete way to show emotions.
Examples:

• Shorten and enliven sentences by removing nine words.
  Here are two examples:
  1) Members of the "to be" family (is, am, are, was, were, will be, have, has, had, been). Susan is going to be tried in court today. OR Susan’s trial is today.
  2) That. Susan said that Bob was sorry. OR Susan said Bob was sorry.

• Avoid redundancy.
  The fire completely destroyed the building. Wrong. Destroy means to ruin completely. You never need to say something was completely destroyed. It’s either ruined or not. If it’s not destroyed, say badly damaged. ·Be Clear Will readers have to read the sentence more than once to get the meaning? Example: These days people are spending too much time working and following recreational hobbies to read cumbersome material. OR People are busy and won’t read wordy material.

• Avoid jargon.
  Though genre is a common word to writers, it’s new to many readers. If you use technical terms, explain them in common language. People may enjoy learning a new word or two, but they want to understand what the writer is saying.

• Be Correct One writer submits a story with correct sentence structure, grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Another submits an equally good story, but it needs editing. Which do you think the editor will accept? To improve your chances, buy at least one grammar book, study, and join a critique group. Most editors use Associated Press Manual of Style for magazine and newspaper articles and The Chicago Manual of Style for books.

• Conclusions All conclusions don’t have to end "happily ever after." All loose ends, however, must be tied. If you have introduced a problem, readers will expect a solution. If you have posed a question, readers will expect an answer. If you have brought up the past, readers will expect you to relate it to the present. If you have told of action, readers will expect you to reveal a character’s reaction. If you have exposed a wrong, readers will expect you to tell what is right. If you have presented an overview, readers will expect you to offer specific details.

End with a "take away" comment, something the reader will remember. Do writers quit trying because their stories do not get published? OR Do stories not get published because writers quit trying?
Don’t give up. With perseverance, you can write a winner! Copyright 2001 © Arlene Knickerbocker
email:writer@thewritespot.org
http://www.thewritespot.org