The document provides guidance on telling great stories by using facts appropriately, focusing on storytelling through recounting experiences like Nicholas Stachler's introduction to questionable financial practices targeting young soldiers. It emphasizes balancing factual reporting with engaging the reader through well-told narratives.

1. Telling
Great
Stories
The
repor(ng
is
done.
The
facts
are
checked.
The
thesis
is
solid
and
important.
Now:
You
want
folks
to
actually
read
this?

2. What
we’ll
cover:
• Using
facts
appropriately
• Repor(ng
for
great
storytelling
• Using
human
nature
to
hold
your
reader
• Drawing
lessons
from
potboilers
and
the
silver
screen

3. First,
let’s
do
a
reality
check…
Given
X
amount
of
(me
to
report
and
write
a
story,
what
percentage
of
(me
would
you
devote
to
repor(ng?
Photo
by
Flickr
user
U.S.
Fish
and
Wildlife
Service
–
Northeast
Region

4. Using
facts
appropriately
The
Goldilocks
Rule:
Not
too
many
facts,
Not
too
few
facts

5. Every
story
has
a
burden
of
proof
“Cap(ve
Clientele:
Part
One”

6. The
“CapEve
Clientele”
thesis
• Several
financial
services
companies
or
their
agents
are
using
ques(onable
tac(cs
on
military
bases
to
sell
insurance
and
investments
that
may
not
fit
the
needs
of
people
in
uniform...The
Pentagon
has
been
aware
of
prac(ces
like
these
since
the
Vietnam
War;
inves(ga(ons
have
even
cited
specific
companies
and
agents.
But
because
of
industry
lobbying,
Congressional
pressure,
weak
enforcement
and
the
Pentagon’s
ineffec(ve
oversight,
almost
no
ac(on
has
been
taken.

7. Diana’s
Rule
#1
Use
all
the
facts
required
to
meet
your
burden
of
proof
–
and
not
one
fact
more!

8. Poll
QuesEon
#1:
Which
fact
is
not
needed
to
meet
the
burden
of
proof
in
“Cap(ve
Clientele”?

9. Ouch.
The
editor
says
cut
the
story…
What
could
be
eliminated
from
the
“Cap(ve
Clientele”
thesis
to
reduce
my
burden
of
proof
so
I
could
cut
the
Photo
by
Flickr
user
Victor1558
story?

10. “CapEve
Clientele”
thesis
I
could
eliminate
the
reference
to
the
Pentagon’s
prior
knowledge...
Several
financial
services
companies
or
their
agents
are
using
ques(onable
tac(cs
on
military
bases
to
sell
insurance
and
investments
that
may
not
fit
the
needs
of
people
in
uniform…
But
because
of
industry
lobbying,
Congressional
pressure,
weak
enforcement
and
the
Pentagon’s
ineffec(ve
oversight,
almost
no
ac(on
has
been
taken.

11. “CapEve
Clientele”
thesis
…Or
I
could
eliminate
any
reference
to
"investments"
…
Several
financial
services
companies
or
their
agents
are
using
ques(onable
tac(cs
on
military
bases
to
sell
insurance…
that
may
not
fit
the
needs
of
people
in
uniform…
But
because
of
industry
lobbying,
Congressional
pressure,
weak
enforcement
and
the
Pentagon’s
ineffec(ve
oversight,
almost
no
ac(on
has
been
taken.

12. “CapEve
Clientele”
thesis
…Or
I
could
cut
the
reasons
“why
almost
no
ac(on
has
been
taken”…
Several
financial
services
companies
or
their
agents
are
using
ques(onable
tac(cs
on
military
bases
to
sell
insurance
and
investments
that
may
not
fit
the
needs
of
people
in
uniform...
The
Pentagon
has
been
aware
of
prac(ces
like
these
since
the
Vietnam
War;
inves(ga(ons
have
even
cited
specific
companies
and
agents.
But
…
almost
no
ac(on
has
been
taken.

13. Remember,
it’s
a
balancing
act
The
length
of
a
story
is
determined
by
your
burden
of
proof.
To
cut
a
story’s
length,
you
must
scale
back
what
you
try
to
prove
in
that
story.

14. Diana’s
Rule
#2
You
cannot
cut
the
story;
you
can
only
reduce
your
burden
of
proof.

15. Diana’s
Rule
#3
If
you
use
every
inch
of
space
to
meet
your
burden
of
proof,
you’ll
win
your
argument.
But
you'll
lose
your
reader!

16. How
“CapEve
Clientele”
began
Nicholas
Stachler
was
19
years
old
when
he
reported
for
basic
training
with
the
Army
at
Fort
Benning,
Ga.,
before
shipping
out
for
11
months
to
Iraq.
A
gentle,
trus(ng
man,
he
had
only
weeks
earlier
graduated
from
high
school
with
a
handful
of
trophies
in
hockey
and
soccer,
middling
grades
and
hardly
a
clue
about
how
to
handle
his
money.
He
had
held
only
casual
jobs
baby-­‐
si^ng
and
mowing
lawns
and
had
never
opened
a
checking
account.
The
bus
trip
to
boot
camp,
from
the
foothills
of
the
Appalachians
in
southern
Ohio
to
the
kudzu-­‐covered
fields
of
western
Georgia,
took
him
farther
from
home
than
he
had
ever
been.
About
six
weeks
into
his
training
-­‐-­‐
six
weeks
of
combat
drills
and
drummed-­‐in
lessons
in
Army
ways
-­‐-­‐
he
tasted
one
of
the
less-­‐honorable
tradi(ons
of
military
life:
a
compulsory
classroom
briefing
on
personal
finance
that
was
a
life
insurance
sales
pitch
in
disguise...

17. How
did
you
feel
about
Nicholas
Stachler?
Let’s
compare
notes:
In
a
word
or
two,
share
your
impressions
of
this
young
recruit.
Nicholas is
on the left.

18. ReporEng
for
great
storytelling
Photo
by
Flickr
user
sskennel

19. Let’s
brainstorm
In
one
or
two
words,
what
facts
best
help
bring
a
character
to
life?
Photo
by
Flickr
user
lateda

20. Report
with
all
five
senses

21. How
did
it
make
you
feel?
Why?

22.
To
reconstruct
the
past,...
Photo
by
Flickr
user
Laineys
Repertoire
…try
the
Internet!

23. Was
it
rainy?
Torrid?
Balmy?
hcp://www.wunderground.com/history/

24. Which
gives
us...
Photo
by
Flickr
user
eoringel
“The
day
Bernie
Madoff
was
arrested
in
Manhacan,
the
weather
was
perfect
in
Palm
Beach
-­‐-­‐
ground
zero
for
thousands
of
his
vic(ms...”

25. What
do
they
look
like?
What
were
they
wearing?
U.S.
District
Judge
Jed
S.
Rakoff
hcp://images.google.com/

26. How
do
they
sound
and
behave?
“Yeah,
It’s
Fun
Being
a
Billionaire”
-­‐-­‐
interview
on
CNBC
found
on
YouTube.com

27. And
what
did
it
look
like
where
that
arrest
took
place?
www.earth.google.com

28. Gathering
color
a^er
the
fact
• Tour
the
scenes
yourself.
• Ask
for
family
albums,
yearbooks,
home
video,
conven(on
photos,
etc.
• Talk
to
those
who
were
there
–
using
photos
and
headlines
as
memory
“prompts.”
Photo
by
Flickr
user
Arbron
• Retrace
a
character’s
steps.

29. Using
human
nature
to
hold
your
reader
Photo
by
Flickr
user
Saul
Adereth

30. Poll
QuesEon
#2:
In
the
“Cap(ve
Clientele”
story,
who
is
Nicholas
Stachler?

31. Diana’s
Rule
#4
The
universal
truths
of
human
experience
are
the
bedrock
of
any
great
story.

32. Use
archetypal
stories
What
other
archetypal
stories
can
you
name?

33. More
archetypal
stories
• Icarus
• Robin
Hood
• King
Midas
• Dr.
Jekyll
and
Mr.
Hyde
Photo
by
Flickr
user
puuikibeach
• Dr.
Faustus
• The
Emperor’s
New
• Aladdin
and
the
Genie
Clothes
• The
Frog
Prince
• King
Lear
• The
Ugly
Duckling
• The
Sorcerer’s
• The
Boy
Who
Cried
Wolf
Appren(ce
• The
Pied
Piper
• Snow
White
• Beauty
and
the
Beast

34. Clichés
became
clichés
because…
• Pride
goeth
before
a
fall.
• He
was
hoisted
on
his
petard.
• The
pot
calling
the
kecle
black.
• His
Achilles’
heel.
Photo
by
Flickr
user
hello-­‐julie
…they
rang
true
and
sEll
do!

35. Folklore’s
cast
of
stock
characters…
The
star-­‐crossed
lovers
The
fatally
flawed
hero
The
femme
fatale
The
man
of
steel
The
knight
errant
The
evil
wizard
Photo
by
Flickr
user
Wonderlane

36. As
you
prepare
to
write,
ask:
In
our
common
cultural
heritage,
what’s
the
closest
archetypal
match
to
the
story
you
want
to
tell?
Photo
by
Flickr
user
Muffet

37. Once
you
have
your
answer…
• Keep
it
as
a
frame
of
reference…
• Use
it
to
sort
out
your
characters…
• Iden(fy
the
core
words
it
brings
to
mind…
• Use
it
to
give
your
story
a
familiar
shape…
• But
proceed
with
cau(on
before
you
make
a
direct
reference
to
this
archetype!

38. Poll
QuesEon
#3:
The
Bernie
Madoff
story
most
strongly
brings
to
mind…

39. Poll
QuesEon
#4:
JP
Morgan
Chase
used
a
risk-­‐reducing
strategy
that
wound
up
cos(ng
the
bank
billions.
Which
archetypal
reference
does
that
story
bring
to
mind?

40. Learning
from
potboilers
and
the
silver
screen
Photo
by
Silicon
Prairie
News

41. Diana’s
Rule
#5
To
learn
great
storytelling,
study
great
storytellers.

42. My
favorite
screenwriEng
guides
• By
Christopher
Vogler:
• By
Blake
Snyder:
The
Writer’s
Journey:
Save
the
Cat
series
Mythic
Structure
for
Writers,
Third
Edi(on
What
wri5ng
guides
do
you
love?

43. Six
QuesEons
to
Ask
Yourself
Before
You
Type
That
Anecdotal
Lead
resources
More
wri(ng
are
in
the
handout.
http://www.newsthinking.com/six-questions-to-ask-yourself-before-you-type-that-
anecdotal-lead/

44. My
favorite
pace
cars
for
storytelling
• Robert
Crais,
“Elvis
Cole”
series
• Lee
Child,
“Jack
Reacher”
novels
• Anything
by
Stephen
King
Photo
by
Flickr
user
msbhaven

45. Remember
Diana’s
Rules
1. Use
all
the
facts
required
to
meet
your
burden
of
proof
-­‐
but
not
one
fact
more!
2. You
cannot
cut
the
story;
you
can
only
reduce
your
burden
of
proof.
3. If
you
use
every
inch
to
meet
your
burden
of
proof,
you’ll
win
your
argument.
But
you'll
lose
your
reader!
4. The
universal
truths
of
human
experience
are
the
bedrock
of
a
good
story.
5. To
learn
great
storytelling,
study
great
storytellers.