Zina Kumok | April 4, 2011
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| Photo by Ryan Dorgan |
| Poynter scholar, writing coach and author Roy Peter Clark spoke to classes last week about story mechanics. He deconstructed sentences — including Henny Youngman's jokes — to show how word placement affects narrative. |
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That was how Roy Peter Clark’s guest lecture started Thursday morning to J460 Story Mechanics students in the journalism annex. The Poynter Institute’s vice president, senior scholar and instructor was on campus this week to talk to visiting professor Tom French’s classes.
Punctuating his talk with riffs and a couple of complete songs on an electronic keyboard, Clark used music to introduce the day’s topic: the importance of getting one word in exactly the right place.
He learned the value of deconstruction early in life. As a child, he said, he wanted to learn to play rock ‘n’ roll piano instead of the classical style he had been taught. A friend showed him how to play a rolling chord and told Clark to go home and practice. At first, the chord didn’t sound like rock ‘n’ roll, but eventually Clark got the hang of it by simply adding bits and changing the speed.
He used that experience to show how recognizing the smaller elements of a work you want to emulate can show you how to recreate it yourself.
“Whether it’s choreography or visual arts or writing, any form of creative expression depends on the ability to X-ray the final product to see what’s going on there,” said Clark, whose most recent book is The Glamour of Grammar: A guide to the magic and mystery of practical English.
Clark also taught students one of what he called 50 essential writing tips: order words for emphasis. He used Shakespeare and comedy shtick to show how the placement of each word in a sentence can change its impact.
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| Photo by Ryan Dorgan |
| "Put the coolest thing in the hottest position," Clark suggested about word placement. Often, the "hottest position" is the last word of a sentence or last sentence of a graph. |
“This may seem like nuts and bolts, but they’re designed to advance your story, to give it energy,” Clark said of French's techniques as he broke down the passage with the students.
He advised writers to consider the most important element of a sentence and determine where to place that element in relation to lesser elements.
“Put the coolest thing in the hottest position,” he said. For example, in Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the line “the queen, my lord, is dead” positions the most important information, “is dead,” at the end. “The queen” ranks second and “my lord” third.
Clark also talked about considering white space and sentence length to give energy to the story. Short sentences at the end of graphs may be the most powerful; save that information for that position. White space draws reader attention; consider where that white space may be when crafting passages.
Junior MaryJane Slaby, who read Clark’s Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer, said it was a treat to hear Clark in person.
“That’s one of the really great perks of the journalism school,” Slaby said. “It shows how influential Tom and the journalism school are.”
Clark ended Thursday’s class just as he began – with a sing-along of Surfin’ USA for the landlocked Indiana students.
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