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Mechanics of Story Writing

The following is a rough checklist of activities a reporter should pursue when writing a story after returning from the reporting assignment. This is a “nuts and bolts” guide to UCAN stories. This list is worth referring to regularly to make sure you don’t forget something.

1. WHAT’S THE STORY? After you have done your reporting and you prepare to write up the story, keep in mind the main theme or focus of the story – What’s the story? Make sure it is a theme that will make a UCA News story – a story about the Church or of interest to the Church in Asia. Write a “mission statement” for your story. It can be one, two or three sentences long. Keep it is front of you as you write. This will help you keep on track.

Examples:

- I want to tell the story of a nun who offers food and shelter to homeless women by focusing in on one or two of the women to tell of the problems they face and how the nun is helping.

- I want to tell the story of a former street kid who is a lay Catholic and is running an NGO to help fellow street kids. I want to tell the story through the experiences of this NGO worker.

- I want to tell the story of small lay prayer groups who are trying to encourage Catholics to pray more often. But I want to show that their mission is not always easy as they face resistance from some disenchanted Catholics.

2. PLAN THE STORY Sketch a brief outline of the story before you begin to write. The idea is to briefly indicate what your Lead will be, what you will put into your Nut Para, how you will lay out the Main Body of the story, and then what you think might work well as an Ending.

Example:

LEAD – Nun welcomes woman, Imelda, who has been beaten by her husband who turns up at her center. Show the drama of woman turning up bruised on the nun’s doorstep.

NUT PARA – Beaten woman is just one of the 50 women who have been taken in by Sister Mary at her center on the western outskirts of the city. Her center has run out of beds. Domestic violence is rife in the city.

MAIN BODY – Imelda, the new arrival, tells of her reason from fleeing from her home. Two other women tell their stories. Sister Mary explains the history of the center and why this is her mission. Nun makes reference to Imelda and how her case is typical. Local priest talks about violence in households. Women’s NGO worker talks about the type of households that experience violence. Why Imelda’s experience is common.

ENDING – Imelda sits eating a meal with the other women at the center. She says she is grateful for the help. But she wants to go home. She says she will give her husband “another chance.”

3. VOICES Try to make sure you have at least three people quoted in your story. This is the minimum for any story. On the other hand, you don’t need to include 20 people’s views. You may have talked to 20 people but if you include all those names and quotes in the story it will be hard for the reader to follow.

Example:

- If you were writing a story on a Catholic-run shelter for street kids, you might want to include comments from (a) two or three street kids, (b) the nun that runs the center, (c) the Catholic commission that is responsible for youth affairs.

- If you were writing a story about a Catholic media training seminar, you might want to include comments from (a) two of the speakers, (b) the organizer, and (c) two or three participants.

- If you are writing about a conflict story about a priest who is helping Catholic hill tribe people who have been kicked off their land by the forestry department, you might want to include comments from (a) the priest, (b) two or three hill tribe people, (c) the forestry department (important), and (d) an NGO that helps tribal people.

Continued …

4. TELL A STORY Imagine you are an oral storyteller. As you write the story, make sure it is easy to understand and that it “flows.” Try reading the story aloud, to make sure it reads well and makes sense. Offer the reader a “good read.” Use transitions – those words, phrases or sentences that encourage the reader to read on – as in the following examples.

Examples:

- It wasn’t always like this. Bill used to be athletic when he was young…

- The neighborhood had been tense for weeks. Local Catholics claimed the trouble started…

- The nuns have not lost hope. Sister Mary said…

- Cleanliness is a problem. The street kids need a good bath before they can sleep under clean sheets…

- This was not the only challenge the reporter faced. He had to write up the story in one hour…

5. ATTRIBUTION Make clear in the story where you got the information. If a person talked directly to you, say “told UCA News.” If the information came from a newspaper, say so. If it came from a particular organization, name the organization. Always state your sources. Even if a person wishes to remain anonymous, you still have to indicate what type of source the person represents - a government source, a social worker, a member of a rebel group, etc.

Examples:

“The priest knows who the culprits are,” said Father Anthony.

The bishop told the parishioners…

Sister Mary told UCA News that…

According to a government official…

A social worker, who preferred to remain anonymous, said…

According to a Sept. 2 story in The Nation newspaper…

A recent TV news report claimed…

6. THE FIVE W’S AND AN H Make sure to include the basic nuts and bolts of the story – WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, WHY and HOW. These are the questions a reporter uses to get the basic facts of the story.

Examples:

WHO – Sister Ann runs the soup kitchen.

WHAT – A rally was held to protest against the anti-conversion bill.

WHERE – The angry protesters converged on the Shah Minar monument in the center of the city.

WHY – The woman was protesting because her son had been killed in Iraq.

HOW – The villagers built the church from the ground up, digging the foundations, erecting the walls and roof.

7. FACTS, FIGURES, NAMES, DATELINE Make sure to check the details of your story so that the facts, figures, names and dateline (where the story was reported from) are correct. Check the spelling. Include a reference as to how many kilometers and in which direction the place is in relation to the capital.

Examples:

Spelling – Ulaanbaatar (not Ulanbatar)

Spelling – Kathmandu (not Katmandu)

Spelling – Father Augusty Pulickal (not Pullikal)

Distance – Dharan, 240 kilometers east of Kathmandu.

Dateline – You reported the story from Negombo, so your dateline would be NEGOMBO.

Dateline – You reported your story in Dili, so your dateline would be DILI.

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8. REWRITING YOUR OWN STORY When you have written the story, go back over it and edit your own work. Try to take a fresh look at it to see how you can trim and improve it.

Examples:

The nun said the culprits ran away quickly. Try - The nun said the culprits ran away. Cut “quickly.”

He smiled happily and ate the food heartily. Try - He smiled and quickly ate the food. Cut “happily” and “heartily.”

The boy put some strong effort into disciplining the noisy, barking canine. Try - The boy hit the barking dog.

9. DEAL PROMPTLY WITH EDITORS' QUERIES Try to respond quickly to editors’ questions in order for your story to be published quickly. If getting the extra material requested is going to take some time, let the editor know. Remember that editors can help improve your story. Reporters and editors should ideally work as a team.

The story is now finished!