Dear Coach,

I sometimes leave key information out of a story. Not essential information, or anything that would make the story inaccurate, but things that, in retrospect, would increase reader understanding. Is there a checklist for making sure a story is “complete?” – Forgetful

Dear Forgetful,

The fact that you are being accurate and not leaving out essential information is great news. But what you describe here is that extra something that means the difference between a run-of-the-mill story and a water-cooler special.

Try these two simple things:

1) Can you elevate the story from the local to the universal, with a quote evoking bigger themes? You can do this by asking a main source: What’s the larger meaning here? What should we take away from this, in the wider world?

Example: Story about the city condemning blighted houses

Typical quote: “We are looking at five of these properties, which means that the five families living in them will have to find shelter elsewhere, which we are not happy about.”

“Bigger” quote:“We’re really talking about the foundations of democracy. Is the city in the business of throwing people out on the street because of their economic circumstances? The Founding Fathers would shudder.”

2) Can you analyze and edit down the key data in the story to streamline meaning and make the numbers part of the larger narrative?

Example: Story about Florida hurricane deaths

Hard-to-digest data:During 2004, there were 144 total hurricane-related deaths in Florida. The majority of deaths, 59 percent, occurred in the post-impact phase. Accidents (unintentional injury) accounted for 76 percent of hurricane-related deaths. Trauma accounted for nearly half of all unintentional injury deaths, followed by drowning, other injury, carbon monoxide poisoning and electrocution.

Streamlined for clarity: Most hurricane deaths happen after the storm itself. During the 2004 season:

- there were 144 deaths;
- 59 percent of the deaths occurred after the storm; and
- 76 percent were due to preventable accidents and injuries.

If you learn the two core skills – elevating the narrative to the universal and streamlining data for clarity – you’ll find that a lot of extra stuff in your stories can go. Strange as it may seem but is often true, less is more. Especially in storytelling.

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