There can’t be many of us who don’t find long copy a bit daunting, especially when the subject is complex, unfamiliar or not something we’re particularly interested in personally. In the first of his series on ‘how to write an article’, former trade press editor and journalist Andy Barrett explains, with the help of Jack and Jill, how to find the all-important angle.

Who wants to read your writing?

The cynical answer is ‘nobody’. The truth is ‘very few’. There are a lot of people who enjoy reading. The problem is there’s an awful lot of writing out there and it’s the readers who get to choose what they read.

What you need is some way to hook people in. What you need is an angle.

Digging in the dirt

If you’re lucky enough to have real-time feeds from Associated Press or Reuters, or have correspondents in the field, then you can break stories that no-one has heard yet. Most of us, however, are asked to write about a company, product, service or event and we have to try to wave our flag above all the others who are doing exactly the same thing.

Being a diligent professional, you’ve done your research (i.e. read or written the brief) and found out just about everything there is to know on the subject… and now all you have is a mountain of information.

Somewhere in there is a drop of inspiration. How  can you find it? What can you do with it once you have?

Knowing your subject isn’t enough. Pretty much anyone can write endlessly on a subject and include all the facts, but no-one will want to read it if it’s dry, if there’s no premise and no conclusion.

But everyone loves a story. Your angle creates the story. Your angle actually tells you what to write.

What is an angle?

Take the nursery rhyme Jack and Jill. The pair go up the hill to fetch water. On the way down, the pair fall and Jack needs emergency treatment for head injuries. This is the story. There’s not much to it.

When retelling the tale, we can take a couple of different angles.

A brother and sister forced to collect water. The dangerous conditions on the hill leading to the well – an area many people use. The inaccessibility of water in the area. The innovations of homecare head treatments.

You see? Once you’ve found your angle (remembering what your readers want to see) the story almost writes itself.

If I listed all of the guitars I own, their characteristics and specifications, you would, quite rightly, be pretty bored and would forget the lot in a few hours. If I told you that the guitars I own are a litany of blagging, theft and dirty deals, you’d want to know more.

Finding the angle

Examine your research. Are there any points that stand out? Any that repeat? Any that strike you as unusual? One of these will be the central thread to your piece.

Ask the ‘w’ questions. Who? What? Where? When? How? and Why? The ‘why’ is your story.

You’ll be amazed at how often finding the right angle for your story will lend itself to questions you hadn’t thought of before. Ask them. And weave the answers (if relevant) into the article.

Finally, how does this apply to or relate to your reader? Sometimes, simply establishing relevance to your readership is enough to create a unique angle that will keep them reading through to the conclusion.

Now we just need to turn it into a cogent article.

Photo by Casey Horner on Unsplash