Thursday, March 27, 2008

Creativity Tips: Tell Me a Story

Yesterday's post featured the cover of Bill Bryson's book. A quote from the book demonstrates how a good writer and/or reporter uses anecdotes to help communicate what some might think is "boring" information:

It’s probably not a good idea to take too personal an interest in your microbes. Louis Pasteur, the great French chemist and bacteriologist, became so preoccupied with them that he took to peering critically at every dish placed before him with a magnifying glass, a habit that presumably did not win him many repeat invitations to dinner.
-- Bill Bryson, “A Short History of Nearly Everything”©2003

It's the same advice producer Don Hewitt used to give reporters on 60 Minutes: "Tell me a story." Paint a picture with your words, and people will remember. They may not invite you to dinner, but they'll remember ...

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