The solution for me is to think of the piece first as a narrative, not as marketing copy. That’s why it’s there in the first place. The resulting article is not only unsatisfying to read, but it also doesn’t achieve the hospital’s goal, because the reader sees right through the trick.Īt the same time, the patient story does need to promote the hospital’s work. The patient’s experience feels like a marketing device, thrown in at the beginning and the end. Have you ever read a patient story that is little more than a thinly veiled commercial for the hospital? I sure have.
I usually start these conversations with something broad like, “So, tell me what happened.” To help make the patient feel good about opening up to me, I let the interviewee set the pace. Being able to build rapport over the phone in less than a minute is an indispensable skill for writing patient stories. The best way to respect that gift is to listen. They’ve had a potentially frightening, painful experience, and they are willing to share it. That’s why when I contact a patient for an interview, the foremost thing on my mind is their generosity. If you or someone you love has ever faced a serious medical condition, you know how personal that experience is – how significant those moments were to you. That emotional connection is what people remember after they put the article down, and that’s what we strive to create. We’ve gotten a glimpse of a journey through challenging circumstances to a happy ending on the other side. Reading a story like this should leave us with a sense of wonder.
#Storywriting savvy movie#
And the stories themselves are the stuff of movie scripts: a miracle save, a race against time, an underdog who overcomes all obstacles to walk out the hospital doors. Done right, patient stories are engaging, humanizing the organization and lifting up the best healthcare has to offer. Hospitals and health systems have an ongoing appetite for patient stories, and it’s easy to see why. From futuristic neurosurgical techniques that seem like they should be impossible, to a child recovering from severe illness who redefines my understanding of the word “fighter,” I never get tired of writing them. Return from Sidebar Savvy to Nonprofit Copywriter homeĪs an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.As a copywriter who specializes in healthcare, I’ve written a lot of success stories featuring a patient. More tips on our Writing Articles Pinterest board. Top Article Writing Tip: the One-Point Rule. Tips for Writing a Hook for Your Article. The Inverted Pyramid: Article Writing Format for Online Content, Too.
#Storywriting savvy how to#
How to find the main idea of your article before you write. How to Write a How To Article that gets read from start to finish. How to Write Query Letters: A Quick Tutorial. Īrticle Writing Tips: News Story vs Feature Story – What’s the Difference? Write an Article or Write a Book? Here’s How to Decide. How to Write An Article: Get Started With These 12 Steps. the secondary content area on a website, usually positioned as a strip on the side of the page to hold additional elements.Where possible, include plenty of white space as graphic relief for the eyes.Īn article side bar not to be confused with two other types of side bars: Follow the publication’s side bar word count limits.Write a concise headline using active verbs.The key question to answer: does the side bar content supplement what is already in the main article? If the answer is yes, then a side bar is a good choice. The Cardinal Rule of Writing Sidebars: don’t duplicate or rehash the article content. Choose Side Bar ContentĬhoose content that adds value to the main piece. An editor may even ask you to write a sidebar for another writer’s article. As an extra bonus for writers, juicy sidebars can provide the basis to write another article or even a series. Sidebars offer the extra content as add-ons.
To Offer an Additional Readįeature stories, breaking news, and in-depth profiles present a writer’s dilemma: too much raw material to include within the scope of the piece and in keeping to word count limits. This is one place where you’re allowed to follow a rabbit trail with your words – as long as the side bar content complements the main piece. In contrast with the “main bar” - the main article - which covers who, what, where, when, why, and how, a side bar allows you to develop one aspect of a bigger story with a fresh twist or a detour.
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