Encouragement for Your Writing Journey
By Ken Melton, M.S
February 2023
Even as technologies change and science advances, no amount of data can ever replace the emotion or memory of a good story.
Recently, I struggled with telling a story. I sat in front of my laptop, trying to motivate myself to write and will the words into existence. I had done this a thousand times before; “just put pen to paper,” I mumbled to myself.
But in my mind, a negative narrative had been created. What if they’re factual or grammatical errors? What if I asked the wrong questions? What if I got a quote wrong; what if the story isn’t good?
As any creator will tell you, a healthy dose of doubt is a sign of humility and the first step to understanding why you can do this.
That’s it! Why? Because this story needs to be told. Why does it need to be told? It will benefit others. Why? Because it can connect others outside of their stovepipes. Why do they need to connect? It will help with collaboration and morale. Why do we need to collaborate? It will expand our knowledge base, lead to new insights and educate others.
As the whys flowed, it led back to why I needed to create this piece; it’s what you love to do, and what people trust you to do. Because without you, this information may never reach the person who needs to hear it the most.
With this in mind, here are a few reminders to encourage you on your writing journey.
Stay humble.
Being a humble communicator is hard when your work ends up on the sharp end of the red pen. The act of humility is often hard on storytellers who feel they have given their best and nothing more can be done.
Still, you can trust an editor’s brilliance to look at the completed picture and find the imperfections in the content that the storyteller who is too close to the story can miss.
Remaining humble doesn’t begin with your pen or end with an editor’s either. Often, it starts when you interact with the subject or subject matter.
As a communicator, you have the honor of highlighting the expertise of others, and they should inspire you to want to showcase them at their best. This happens when you go into each conversation with a listener’s ear and the curiosity and sincere interest of a child. While you may feel you know the topic enough, everyone has a different take on a subject.
Know the formula: science + narrative = storytelling.
While storytelling is more of an art than a science, it still relies on a scientific aspect of psychology and sociology to best translate the information to the correct audience. To know when to stick to more challenging facts and when to wax poetic; to know when a data point needs to stick or whether a clever analogy will do.
But what about the data? The formulas and equations? The executive’s five-point stratagem? These are important, but they are not the reason we enjoy stories. We appreciate the hero’s journey even in the smallest topics.
That’s why the journalistic pyramid still stands the test of time even after all these years. Abstracts, white papers and executive summaries exist because they invoke the emotions and interests of the readers. The data will be interspersed throughout, but the reader, listener or communication recipient has their agenda, also known as the WIIFM, or what’s in it for me?
What will I learn, or what will confirm my beliefs? How does this affect my team or me? To be a storyteller is to be part social scientist, author and historian.
Understand the truth.
In the end, the story you tell must be, above all else, true (nonfiction) and uniquely yours (fiction and non). While this may seem a no-brainer to some, the most harrowing downfall of any writer or content maker is the introduction of false information as fact. As a storyteller, you’re uniquely positioned to tell history as it’s happening and show how people view their current reality.
Whether blatant or a mistake, the public trusts storytellers to record and tell stories. Anything published could become a record, and the entire portfolio of content creators is called into question if anything is amiss.
For example, think back to a story you thought was true, only to discover that it was fabricated. Your worldview on the subject has now been altered in the opposite direction. In this digital age, filled with fact-checking websites and other verified information hubs, misinformation is the quickest way to lose credibility as a storyteller.
But aren’t we living in a post-truth era? Yes, it’s just that —an age that will ultimately end. But the truth will eventually be discovered.
So how do you ensure that this doesn’t occur with your writing? Trust but verify. Follow up and confirm. Have multiple sources that corroborate your findings and question everything.
While there are many other facets of storytelling, these few things should always be in your toolbox; Stay humble, speak the truth and never stop enjoying what you do.
Now go, tell the type of story that you would love to hear.
Save the date for Strategies & Tactics Live on LinkedIn on Feb. 16 at 1 p.m. ET with Ken Melton.
Ken Melton, M.S
Ken Melton, M.S., is a communications strategist at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory.
