Writing brilliant stories

Learn how to turn your great interviews into punchy copy.

Many an amazing story has died on the page because of dry, poorly-structured writing. You don’t just want your written stories to communicate the facts, you want them to leap off the page with colour and detail that bring the person to life.

Whether you are writing blog posts, impact reports, fundraising appeals or newsletters, our writing brilliant stories course will help you produce copy that captivates your reader.

This course can delivered online or in the room. Some people find it easier to complete the written task if they are working at home, while others like to receive the ongoing feedback of colleagues and trainers while they are competing the written exercise. This is a half-day course. It pairs very well with the basic interview skills course to create a full-day of story training. 

Course content

  • Choosing the right style for your story
    This session will explore the different styles of written stories available to you and which work best for difference audiences and purposes.
  • Structure
    How to hook people into your story using different structural devices, creating headlines and standfirsts, using subheadings and pull quotes.
  • Emotion and colour
    Tips for showing the storyteller’s personality, drawing out emotion and dramatic arcs without sensationalising, addressing challenging storylines sensitively, and things to avoid in your writing.
  • Practical exercise
    This exercise either takes place in the room or the group works offline for between two and three hours to draft a written story. We will provide delegates with a transcript to work from.