Go Tell It

In Telling True Stories: A Nonfiction Writers’ Guide, Emmy-winning TV documentary producer Stanley Nelson writes:

Saying too much — especially in the film’s narration — ruins the audience’s sense of discovery. The experience of watching a film should be making a series of discoveries. This process keeps viewers engaged.

This wisdom absolutely applies to writing as well. Even marketing writing. Tell readers what to think and you’ll quickly turn them off. Set a compelling story in front of readers — getting the facts and scenic details right — and you engage their attention and their thinking.

Consider how Jesus didn’t always tell his audience the meaning behind a parable. He let them think on it and discuss it among themselves. The principle is the same: Discovery is a powerful teaching tool if we trust it.

My wife and I went to see “Jurassic World” last night because … well, we’re still not sure why. Maybe because we had a Groupon. Anyway, if you like special effects, dinosaurs, awful writing and wooden acting, then this is your movie.

As with all of the Jurassic Park movies, it’s a glorified Godzilla movie. Man messes with the natural order of things, creates a monster, monster goes out of control, many die, and in the end all agree that the whole thing was a bad idea. At least until the sequel.

This story line can work. It doesn’t work here because the plot is worn, there’s virtually no character development and the acting is beyond awful. As we mentioned during the Writers and Editors Workshop, sympathetic characters are a key building block in any story. Watching “Jurassic World,” I found myself rooting for every main character to be eaten by dinosaurs.

The story was completely predictable. No surprise plot twists, no interesting subplots. People run from dinosaurs and (spoiler alert) our plucky heroes somehow survive.

Maybe I’m asking too much from summer movies, which long ago devolved into video games. But I got angry watching “Jurassic World.” A good film — and any good story — respects the intelligence of its audience.

Take Pixar, which has produced some of the best storytelling of our generation. Movies like “Toy Story” or “Up” build around themes like growing up, or loss. Pixar’s latest, “Inside Out,” is an ingenious take on the emotions surrounding a family’s long-distance move.

The reason those Pixar films become beloved classics, while self-proclaimed blockbusters like “Jurassic World” wind up in the markdown bin, is storytelling. Identify a powerful, universal theme and you can build any crazy world you want to contain it.

Those two elements — strong characters and universal themes — propel true stories of God’s work, too. Then, and only then, add a monster (something bad that must be defeated). Now you have a recipe for something memorable.

Jesus’ parables contain strong characters, universal themes and yes, monsters. It’s why those stories are as easily relatable today as they were 2,000 years ago.

Skip right to the monsters and all you have is a video game.

Even the best interviews often start off a bit awkwardly as you’re getting to know your subject and discerning his vibe.

Depending on the subject, you can find a hundred different trails to success. One good way to turn an interview from awkward to undoable, though, is to ask “Yes” and “No” questions.

“Was that a good experience?”

“Yes.”

“Did you know that was going to happen?”

“No.”

“Would you do it that way again?”

“Yes.”

If running quotes like that doesn’t get you fired, it definitely won’t get you re-tweeted.

Rather than paint yourself into a corner, ask open-ended questions that get your subject talking about themselves and their memories and the topic at hand. Here’s are 13 “Open-Enders” that will get you the background and the quotes that will make your interview count — and your article worth reading.

1. That’s interesting — can you tell me more about that?
2. Then what happened?
3. What was it like to ___________ ?
4. Who else was there? What did they do?
5. Why did you decide to do that?
6. What did the place look like?
7. Who were the main players in this situation? What did they do?
8. What event or conversation made the difference here?
9. What were the risks for you? For others?
10. What problems or screw-ups did you have to overcome?
11. What do most people not know about this that they should?
12. Is there anything that I haven’t asked you about that you want to mention?
13. Who else should I talk to about this? (Thanks to the late David Halberstam for this one)