4.8 Narrative writing: Tell your readers a story

There's nothing like a good narrative to turn the most boring of topics into a compelling read. One of my most memorable reads was a National Geographic story of a certain type of insect that had been found on just one secluded island and was believed to be extinct until it was discovered years later in small numbers on another distant island. Since the insect could neither swim nor fly, its appearance so far away was a mystery. Researchers worked to solve the riddle and came up with a theory. This story about research on a supposedly extinct insect could make for a very boring read. I mean, who cares about insects gone extinct? But the author had turned the story into the adventurous journey of a small bug, struggling to survive against all odds. Who could resist that?

Narrative writing is a style that can be used for both news and features. It is a form of storytelling that involves the development of characters and a story line. It is compelling because it satisfies the questions "What happens next?" or "How did that happen?" or "What is learned or understood next?" (see [ http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=117320 ]) Think of how our elders used to communicate information to us – especially to teach us a lesson – or how our ancestors preserved human history.

An example is telling the story of a research study through the researchers themselves. Develop their characters. Demonstrate how various aspects of their personalities led them to their research idea or finding, or how a casual argument led to a realisation of a better methodology. The key to finding the right nuggets of the story is most likely to come from your interviews with researchers (see Lesson Three: The interview).

Another example is telling the same story through people who might be affected by the research. In other words, highlight the human element of your story. Your characters could just as well be objects, such as atoms, or animals, or insects. Your goal is to weave these characters into your story in a way that grabs the attention of your audience as if they were reading a story or listening to their grandfather by the campfire.

EXAMPLE:
Read the following excerpt from a National Geographic magazine article to get a sense of what narrative science writing is about:

So what, really, is this thing called love?
[ http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0602/feature2/index.html ]

It's worth remembering that the narrative approach does not necessarily require long pieces. Short, succinct stories about individual scientists could also be very engaging (see also "Short and sweet: storytelling in 300 words" [ http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=99998 ] )

In narrative writing for feature articles, you'll want to employ all the tools of narrative writing for novels or even good movies – so one way to enhance your narrative writing skills is to read plenty of books, watch movies, and think about what the good storytelling elements were.

Lure your reader into reading your article with a gripping introduction. Keep your reader in suspense while at the same time doling out intriguing clues here and there. Develop your characters well and give the reader time to relate to their idiosyncrasies. Communicate the science through the characters themselves. Bring your narrative to a climax and then keep your readers hooked to the very last word.

Science writing does not have to be boring.


previous | home | next