FIVE DAYS IN MARCH

DAY 5

Stop recreating the past. Create the future by writing about the present.

The past is gone. Random ties everything together. Does it really matter?

There’s too much detailed history in many articles I read – even too much detailed account in one current happening.

Unless you’re trying to change the past, then refer to history sparingly in as few words as possible.

When telling a current story, unless it’s necessary to the comprehension of the work, leave it out.

Viewers skate over details that go on and on. It’s too much for them to read. In doing so, they miss some of your more important or key points.

Most of your historical references are random. You find a way and a place to insert them. But do they really fit into the article as a whole – wrapping it all up, tying it all together? If the answer is yes, then you wouldn’t have to find a way or a place to insert them.

If your goal is to remind the viewer of the dark past of whatever, and that isn’t the focus of your article, then leave it out. People know the past. They don’t want a prejudicial history lesson every time they read an article.

~ Sharon Lee Davies-Tight

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