How the Smallest Idea Can Become a Big Story

If you just start writing, you might be surprised

Each week, I write a newsletter that summarizes the feature stories on Wise & Well, a health and wellness publication I edit. I like to add a little news brief at the top, something that we otherwise haven’t written about. Half the time, as I start writing that little news brief — based on some new study that at first blush didn’t seem worth more than a brief — I get more and more interested. I start looking up contextual background stuff (because context is king) and the brief runs long.

Often, I come to realize I have a feature story brewing. Which ruins my day because now I have to drum up some other brief item for the newsletter.

Even when I’m able to keep the briefs short, their potential to be real stories is almost always evident.

It makes me wonder: How many story ideas did I dismiss because I didn’t start researching and writing, didn’t get deep enough into them to realize their full potential?

Probably a lot.

It also reminds me that story construction is not linear. For me, anyway, it’s a giant spiral, inching ever closer to the finished draft.

The thing that happens when I try to write news briefs is not unlike how I approach every story. So here’s some advice on how you can turn just about any seed of an idea into a full-fledged story.

It’s all about reconnoitering.

Image: Maryna Pleshkun/Shutterstock. Used under the writer’s license.