Tom Huang, the Sunday and enterprise editor at the Dallas Morning News, offered some good ideas for sharpening storytelling skills during a writing panel at last week's Asian American Journalists Convention in Washington, D.C.
Here are Tom's five tips for developing a storyteller's eye– and heart:
- Immerse yourself in other story forms – movies, comic books, songs, short stories, poems, plays, operas. Pay attention to the choices the storytellers make.
- Shadow a photojournalist and watch how they capture pivotal moments.
- Visit a day care center and a nursing home. The young and the elderly can be difficult to write about, and you’ll need to adapt your interviewing skills and know that quiet observation is key.
- Travel abroad. Venturing into an unfamiliar place opens the storyteller's eyes.
- Stay away from your phone (or any screen) for a little while. You will begin to see stories all around you.
What would you add to his list?
