Curriculum ~ Writing Story Writing 101 Story Time Reporting and Writing for student publications

Curriculum ~ Writing Story Writing 101 You CAN write! Writing for your yearbook will expose you to a number of new styles of writing that will improve your confidence and ability to write in all your classes. Types of writing you may do for yearbook: – Feature stories – Headlines – Captions – Interviews – Quick Reads and Info Graphics 2

Curriculum ~ Writing Story Writing 101 Yearbook Writing Must-haves Fresh, lively story-angles on the events and people covered Informational & insightful – Little-known, fascinating facts & figures – One-of-a-kind, quotable quotes Attention to the five senses – It felt like, smelled like, tasted like, sounded like, looked like, etc. Unquestionable accuracy

Curriculum ~ Writing Story Writing 101 Determine your approach Have a clear focus: What is the story you are trying to tell? Who is your audience? – Are you telling the story of the football season to the players on the team? To other students? To parents reading the yearbook? Different “audiences” will need more or less information to fully understand the story. Therefore, determining who your audience is will help you decide which interview questions to ask, etc. What story are you trying to tell? – If covering the football team: are you talking about their impressive record? Many away games? Devoted fans? Coaches and managers? Stand-out players? New locker rooms?

Curriculum ~ Writing Story Writing 101 Determine focus of questionnaire, poll or survey Define size & characteristics of group (125 students? Just boys? Just athletes? Etc.) Carefully word questions/answers Include short answer & multiple choice objective and subjective questions Include administrative instructions Where should they be turned in and when? Do your homework!

Curriculum ~ Writing Story Writing 101 Poll 10% sampling of your readership Reported in percentages Survey 10-person inquiry Reported as “X many out of 10” Interviews Be prepared: Bring paper and pen, or recording device. Plan your questions ahead of time. Ask questions that can’t be answered with a simple yes or no answer. Gathering Information

Curriculum ~ Writing Story Writing 101 Quality Quotes Quotes are personal enough when only the person quoted could tell that specific story. Types of quotes: – Partial or quickie quotes » “Sweeeet!” exclaimed freshman Dina Jones about Mr. Ryerson’s Halloween costume. – Story quote » “We worked all day Monday on our float despite the storms that shook the old warehouse. There was only once that I thought the rain might threaten to flood the building and ruin all our hard work,” junior Ling Lu said. – Anecdotes » “Since he was our first team member to go to state in school history, we were really excited for Kyle [Smith, senior at right] to do well and kick it in,” said senior captain John Herman.

Curriculum ~ Writing Story Writing 101 In headlines To convey thought for primary headline or add details to coverage in secondary In news features To add substantial, quantifiable details to lead, quotes, transitions & conclusion As quick reads To showcase personalities or particulars In captions To personalize the photo allowing those directly involved to tell their stories Use the info

Curriculum ~ Writing Story Writing 101 In Conclusion Conclusions make the most impact when they bring the story full circle. 1.Reference the main point of headline or lead-in sentence 2.Add new information & insights 3.Logically wrap up the story

Curriculum ~ Writing Story Writing 101 Common Problems Avoid word overuse Don’t begin with a, an or the Don’t use ‘this year’ or school name, initials or mascot to open sentences. Don’t use label leads (i.e. “FOOTBALL” to headline the football page) Don’t begin with names Don’t simply state the obvious

Curriculum ~ Writing Story Writing 101 Watch out for Editorializing Definition: to inject personal interpretations or opinions into an otherwise factual account. Example: Crazy hair day was so cool! Analysis: As a description of an event, the sentence does not work, because it doesn’t actually tell anything about the event, partly because everyone’s ideas of cool are different. As a quote, this sentence works because a quote is supposed to capture opinion. Common editorialized verbs: Busy, diligent, successful, hard-working, happy, excited, funny, smart, cute, difficult, tired, etc.

Curriculum ~ Writing Story Writing 101 Editing: JUST DO IT! Always leave yourself time to re-read your own work for basic typos and spelling errors, but also to have 1-2 peers plus your adviser edit your stories and captions for: Improving word choice Adding/deleting content A clear angle and audience Grammar, punctuation and spelling People identified properly and names spelled correctly Conforming to style (quote, expanded caption, headline and sub-headline, story, etc.) Editing and Rewriting

Curriculum ~ Writing Story Writing 101 What are infographics? An infographic (information graphic) is a representation of information in a graphic format designed to make the data easily understandable at a glance. The Art of Quick Reads: Infographics Examples: Bar graphs, pie charts, line charts, tree diagrams, story maps Info to include: Facts: “The school opened in 1929.” Figures: Scorecards, records, statistics, etc. “Ninety five percent of 8 th graders scored 80% or better on the exam.

Curriculum ~ Writing Story Writing 101 Examples: Facts The Art of Quick Reads: Infographics

Curriculum ~ Writing Story Writing 101 The Art of Quick Reads: Quotes

Curriculum ~ Writing Story Writing 101 Quick reads capture Facts, Figures & Feelings Fact Figure Fact Feelings

Curriculum ~ Writing Story Writing 101 The Art of Headlines What headlines do: – Identify spread content – Attract the readers’ attention – Reflect the mood of the spread – Tie into the action of the dominant photo – Create a verbal-visual connection

Curriculum ~ Writing Story Writing 101 Creating effective headlines Creative headlines: Result from word play Use literary techniques such as alliteration, pun, antonym, synonym, homonym, onomatopoeia, rhyme Coordinate with the content of the dominant photo BUT: It is not enough to write a clever headline. Headlines must be graphically appealing as well. Good design will catch the reader as well as good word choice.

Curriculum ~ Writing Story Writing 101 Parts of a headline Primary Headline: Captures readers’ attention with a hint of the story content Secondary Headline: Provides keen information and insights that dates coverage for that year

Curriculum ~ Writing Story Writing 101 for example: primary headline secondary headline

Curriculum ~ Writing Story Writing 101 Use Rhyme!

Curriculum ~ Writing Story Writing 101 Use alliteration!

Curriculum ~ Writing Story Writing 101 Use Onomatopoeia!

Curriculum ~ Writing Story Writing 101 Puns are fun!

Curriculum ~ Writing Story Writing 101 headline tips Revise/refine headlines for strong appeal -Keep headlines factual; no opinions -Use visual nouns and action verbs -Avoid repetition of words -Use a comma instead of “and” -Use single quote marks in headlines -Write headlines in present tense -Avoid school name, initials, mascot -Maintain style consistency with the rest of the book