"Narrative Arc: Pulitzer Prize Judges Teach You to Write a Criticized and Popular Interview Report": A review of my interview writing career
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On a winter afternoon when the weather is getting warmer, it is actually very enjoyable to read “[Narrative Arc: Pulitzer Prize Judges Teaches You to Write a Crowd-worthy Interview Report] (https://goo.gl/7psTfx)” and listen to John Lennon’s “Old Songs” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkgkThdzX-8). It’s just that my eyes were attracted by the words, but my thoughts couldn’t synchronize; suddenly, I seemed to have returned to the era when I was still working in the media.
Everyone has some quirks to one degree or another. For example, I never like underlining notes or folding pages when reading. This time when I read “Narrative Arc”, I unknowingly made a lot of notes in my notebook. It wasn’t until I finished reading this book written by Jack Hart that I realized that it was not just a conversation between myself and the author, but it seemed like a “review” of my past interview writing career.
The so-called “replay” is actually a Go term, that is, after both sides have played a game, they rehearse the game process on the chessboard - to see where they played well and what they played poorly. Or, are there any better ways to do it?
Through the book “Narrative Arc”, I seemed to have revisited my learning process in interviewing and writing. The scene when I first entered the industry is still vivid in my mind, and rejection seems to be just a daily occurrence. Through my own exploration and reading a lot of other people’s works, I slowly figured it out.
Richard Rhodes, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for nonfiction writing, pointed out: “To impress readers, the more important strategies have nothing to do with vocabulary skills, but rather need to cultivate model skills and business skills.” When I read this paragraph in the book, I couldn’t help but feel a little. This is really a good statement!
Looking back on those days, I unconsciously piled up a lot of proper nouns in the process of writing articles. I was often busy confirming the correctness of the system and trying to verify the accuracy of the sources of information. However, I inevitably neglected my ability to manage the topic of the report. It was not until I became the editor-in-chief that my horizons broadened and the subjects I dealt with became more diversified, and I gradually entered the realm of “seeing the forest for the trees”.
In this era where [the power of storytelling] (https://content.tw/power/) is emphasized, the author tells us that telling a story well is much more important than where the story takes place. This means that there is no need to get too hung up on the details. Storytellers with skill and enthusiasm can hone their excellent skills and find close friends no matter what media or carrier they use.
Looking back on the years when I was writing reports for magazines, I attached great importance to the presentation of people, events, times, places and things, just to make readers more empathetic and have a sense of reality. However, after reading “Narrative Arc] (https://goo.gl/7psTfx)”, I was surprised to realize that the story itself is more meaningful than those trivial clues - because the story serves the seemingly ordinary and ordinary needs of people’s daily life, but it can also help us discover the principle of connection between people and everything around them.
To the reader, this all actually happened.
If you are lucky enough to read an excellent [cover story](http://belongnews.pixnet.net/blog/post/30901528-%E2%98% 85%E7%B6%B2%E8%B7%AF%E5%95%86%E6%A5%AD%E6%A8%A1%E5%BC%8F100%E3%80%90%E6%9 2%B0%E6%96%87%E2%97%8E%E9%84%AD%E7%B7%AF%E7%AD%8C%E2%80%A7%E7%9B%A7%E8%AB %AD%E7%B7%AF%E3%80%8A), not only will you and I be amazed and obsessed with the intricate human relationships, but we can also understand the rules of survival and even the context of getting along with the world.
The reason why non-fiction writing is fascinating is that each of us seems to have some kind of script built into our hearts, which can automatically play a role in certain scenes, not only affecting our minds, but even specific actions.
As Jon Franklin explained the story, it seems so appropriate now: “The story is composed of a series of actions, and those actions are produced by a resonant character encountering a situation that creates entanglement and his courage to face and solve the problem.”
It is true that the reason why a good story is passed down from generation to generation is that it can spread because of resonance; and only action can have power.
★ Photo Credit: rawpixel.com
Further reading
- Misaki’s Writing Classroom: Lesson 6 [Preparation Assignment] Narrative Methods and Storyboarding (Part 2)
- まろ’s Writing Classroom: Lesson 6 [Preparation Assignment] Narrative Methods and Storyboarding (Part 1)
- “77 Copywriting Promotion Tips That Will Make People Buy Their Fingers” Recommended Preface: Copywriting is a spiritual journey
☕️ Invite Vista to have a cup of coffee
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