You're Telling a Story...

There are a lot of different forms of writing.  They each have their own rules of length, narrative, and style. Try writing in lots of them.  There's a big difference between writing a prose short story and writing a non-fiction feature article for a magazine.  There's even a big difference between writing a news story for a newspaper and a feature in the very same periodical.  Have you ever noticed how you get the entire story in the first sentence of a front page news story, then the further along you read the more of the details are revealed?  'Three men were found dead in a parked car last night in a church parking lot of New Street."  In fiction writing you would rarely divulge like that.  But for a newspaper article, it's a must, 'Don't bury the lead.'


Read a bunch of news stories, listen to television news broadcasts.  Try writing a fake news story about something serious happening locally.  Make up the details, but stay true to the way a news story is laid out.


Even if you're goal is writing fiction, it's a great exercise in narrative flow.