One night recently, I was babysitting my two youngest grandchildren, ages four and six. Their parents were out for the evening and the kids wanted me to tell them a story at bedtime.
Now, I should explain that as a grandfather, I have a certain reputation as a story-teller to uphold, if only in my own mind, so I usually dig deep on these occasions.
“Once upon a time, far far away there was a village where everything was backwards and upside-down,” I started. “All of the people walked backwards, for example, and everything happened in the opposite ways from what we’re used to.”
Thinking quickly, I came up with another example. “Instead of a kid jumping on a trampoline in Backwardsville, the trampoline jumps on the kid!”
This elicited the reactions I’d hoped for as the kids’ eyes opened widely and they laughed delightedly at the thought.”
“What else happened, Grandpa?”
As I stumbled to provide more details, I realized that I had started this story with a strong lede, but I had no idea where the story was going.
After some scrambling, I resolved the story with a series of lame examples of villagers walking backwards, but as the kids settled in for a long summer’s nap, I was aware that my story could have been much better if only I had thought up an ending before getting started.
And that, dear reader, is my advice to young writers (or old ones) hoping to strengthen their story-telling skills. Know where you are going and avoid painting yourself into a corner like I did while babysitting.
The kids’ father (my son) came out with a quip the following day when I was recounting my dilemma that perfectly captures the point.
“Actually, you knew the ending of your story just fine, Dad,” he said, picking up on the backwards theme. “You just didn’t know how it all had started.”
HEADLINES:
Democrats flee Texas to block Republican redistricting map backed by Trump (BBC)
Trump and his allies mount a pressure campaign against US elections ahead of the midterms (CNN)
The Justice Department seeks voter and election information from at least 19 states (AP)
Trump's jobs data denialism won't fool anyone (Silver Bulletin)
Larry Summers says Trump's accusations of manipulated jobs numbers are ‘preposterous’ (ABC)
ICE crackdown imperils Afghans who aided U.S. war effort, lawyers say (WP)
Inside the ‘Radical Transformation’ of America’s Environmental Role (NYT)
The First Widespread Cure for HIV Could Be in Children (Wired)
‘Self-termination is most likely’: the history and future of societal collapse (Guardian)
Palestinian activist who helped make Oscar-winning documentary 'No Other Land' killed in the West Bank (NPR)
Yes, Gen Z Is Staring at You. The Question Is Why. (NYT)
The uproar over Vogue’s AI-generated ad isn’t just about fashion (TechCrunch)
Mark Zuckerberg Just Declared War on the iPhone (WSJ)
114-Year-Old Attributes Longevity to Sheer Random Chance (The Onion)
MUSIC:
Stop Draggin' My Heart Around - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers with Stevie Nicks
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