Effective storytelling is vital for compelling content, no matter how that content is delivered. Learn how to strengthen your narratives with reporting and writing tips, then hear how to apply those strategies in print, online, broadcast and mobile formats. Presented by Joy Jenkins & Marina Hendricks at the JEA/NSPA National High School Journalism Fall Conference, 11/12/16, Indianapolis, IN.

1. WHAT’S YOUR
STORY?
C R A F T I N G E F F E C T I V E
N A R R AT I V E S
J O Y J E N K I N S & M A R I N A H E N D R I C K S
U N I V E R S I T Y O F M I S S O U R I S C H O O L O F J O U R N A L I S M

2. WHAT IS A NARRATIVE?
• “Narrative is the dirt path that leads us through the impenetrable forest, so we move
forward and don't feel lost.” — Wade Rawlins, Raleigh News and Observer
• ‘”Narrative’ means any technique that produces the visceral desire in a reader to want
to know what happened next.” — Bob Baker, Los Angeles Times
• “A narrative or story is a form of vicarious (or substitute) experience. The story
transports the reader to a place and a time not otherwise available to the reader.
… What's the purpose of such vicarious experience: maybe empathy, understanding,
catharsis.” — Roy Peter Clark, The Poynter Institute
• “Narrative is what I come up with when I put my niece to bed and she says, "Tell me a
story." I tell her a story, I don't tell her an article.” — Janet Rae Brooks, Salt Lake
Tribune

3. WHAT IS A NARRATIVE?
• “A true narrative, as I understand it, requires 1) core character, 2) facing core conflict,
and 3) resolving same through a forward-moving plot.” — Jacqui Banaszynski, Seattle
Times, University of Missouri
• “Narrative is a simple thing, at bottom: chronology with meaning.” — Jon Franklin,
Pulitzer Prize-winning feature writer
• “Narrative simply means storytelling, with a sense of character, time, and place.
Narrative journalism goes beyond the mere facts of traditional news writing to tell a
human story. The story line flows from the lives, thoughts, and emotions of the
people at the center of that story as they face changing circumstances. A narrative has
a thoughtfully arranged thematic development. The story continues to enlarge from
beginning to end, almost like a flower unfolding in the sun, until an epiphany or sense
of understanding is revealed at the end.”
— Matt Schudel, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

4. WHY USE NARRATIVES?
• Humans understand the world through stories.
• Stories tell us who we are and what we value.
• Stories can appear in multiple forms.

5. ELEMENTS OF NARRATIVE
• Character
• Scene
• Time
• Dialogue
• Description
• Action
• Tension
• Purpose

6. WHAT ELEMENTS ARE IN THIS AD?
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPOVwKPMG8o

7. WHERE DO YOU FIND STORY IDEAS?
• Your beat
• Articles in other media, local and national
• Event listings
• Your own sources and contacts
• Observation
• Talking (and listening) to people around you
• Press releases

8. YOGA WITH CATS
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdESvEXBfoc

9. WHAT’S THE BEST PLATFORM?
• Print or online feature?
• Photo essay?
• Video?
• Audio slideshow?
• Social media?

10. ROOTS N BLUES FESTIVAL
• http://www.voxmagazine.com/arts/art/wild
y-s-world-art-at-roots-n-blues-n-
bbq/article_dabdc0b8-890e-11e6-ad28-
d7ed63f1d6da.html
• https://www.instagram.com/p/BLAJkz7hA0
q/
• http://www.voxmagazine.com/news/roots-
n-blues-fans-reminisce-about-last-night-
and-get/article_16293550-8816-11e6-be5f-
e7822bbde924.html
• http://www.voxmagazine.com/music/misso
uri-icon-beatle-bob-returns-to-the-stage-
at-roots/article_76c67950-8851-11e6-a6bb-
8b8fe7c85e24.html

11. BUILDING THE NARRATIVE
• Create an outline of what
you plan to do.
• Create a storyboard.
• Key questions to ask:
– What is your time element?
– Who are your characters?
– What is your conflict?
– What is the resolution?
– What is the key takeaway?

12. MINDY MCADAMS
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
• The first question a reporter should ask when
creating a multimedia piece like an audio slide
show is “What do you intend to
communicate?”
• Once the reporter knows what she wants to
communicate with the story, find
the opening and closing of the story. A strong
and clear beginning is essential to hook the
audience.
• Then a piece should make a direct track
toward the conclusion with the ending clearly
in mind.

13. IRA GLASS, “THIS AMERICAN LIFE”
• Every great audio or video story has
two elements: an anecdote and
a moment of reflection.
• An anecdote is the sequence of
actions that builds the momentum
and raises questions to be answered.
Stringing together a series of actions
(this happens, and then this happens)
makes the audience feel that they are
moving toward a destination.
• A moment of reflection is the point
when someone clearly says, “Here is
the point of the story.”

14. A MAN AND HIS GOOSE
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRA3LnBwzvo

15. YOUR TURN
• Story idea?
• What platform should you use?
– Text?
– Audio?
– Video?
– Photo slideshow?
– Social media?
• How will you structure it?

16. THANK YOU!
Joy Jenkins
Doctoral Candidate, University of Missouri School of Journalism
joyjenkins@mail.missouri.edu
@joyjenkins
Marina Hendricks
Doctoral Candidate, University of Missouri School of Journalism
marina.hendricks@mail.missouri.edu
@mhendwv