Blog #15

Using a specific example, describe what makes a compelling character in narrative nonfiction or literary journalism.

There are many things that can make up a compelling character. Among them are attributes like:

• Goals and desires
• Accomplishments/Achievements and even Shortcomings
• Obstacles he/she faces
• What they like/dislike--opinions, views
• All of the above and anything else that can CREATE A CONNECTION with the audience
• Moreover, the character has a DIRECT CONNECTION to the subject of the article and therefore works as a key example, a manifestation, of the topic to the audience

Chrissy Falletti, in the article Open Channels by Jerome Groopman, is a great example of a compelling character. The beginning of the article revolves around the tragic story of Chrissy's experiences with Cystic Fibrosis. When we see the facts and truths of this genetic disorder from the eyes of a girl who has it makes us sympathize and connect with her and others that also have Cystic Fibrosis. We see her parents--a doctor and a nurse--having to raise their daughter with the knowledge that there is nothing they can do to stop this disease. We see the challenges she faces as she tries to breathe through her ever-congested lungs and searches for cures. The audience is compelled by her, as a living, breathing human being, to understand and empathize with those who have Cystic Fibrosis and feel upset at the channels successful trial drugs must go through before they are available to people like Chrissy. She faces an obstacle that effects every part of her life and her goal is to overcome it; although that obstacle is not ours, the audience can realize that Chrissy's may be greater or equal to their own crises in many ways, and everyone wants to overcome that which stands in their way. The frustration she feels when things go against certain success, the desire to feel normal, these are all feelings we feel too. A compelling character serves as the conduit through which the audience can understand the subject or topic of an article and be truly affected by mere words on a piece of paper--because they are more than boring nonfiction: these words tell the story of a person like you or me, and sooner or later we come to the point where we say, "Man, I gotta do something about this."

Using a specific example, describe what makes an interesting plot in narrative nonfiction or literary journalism.

An interesting plot answers, through a storyline or order of some sort, the basic questions about a subject or topic: Who?, What?, When?, Where?, Why? Darwin's Surprise is a good example of an interesting plot because it answers all the vital questions in an orderly fashion while presenting both sides of the issue. This is done by answering, thorugh the course of the article, 2 main research questions: What are the ethical/social/political/scientifif implications of brings retroviruses back to life? and Are the risks worth the benefits? However, this is narrative nonfiction or literary journalism--without a story or character study the process of answering these questions is pretty boring. But in Darwin's Surprise we follow Thierry Hiedman and his colleagues who have brought these viruses back to life and their goals for curing current viruses like HIV/AIDS through this new technology. We can follow Howard Temin and David Baltimore and see how their studies reveal that, perhaps, without retroviruses there would be no live birth and no mammals and no great human evolution into the world we have today. Finally, after controversy over these variouis scientific studies and arguments, the audience is brought to the conclusion that this technology is as vital as the survival of a continent--and when Africa falls to AIDS, what part of the world will be defeated by microbes next?

What specific steps do authors take to write non-jargon-based scientific writing?

Authors take several steps to write non-jargon-based scientific writing. Most of the time, authors take a complicated scientific subject and break it down into steps and simple terms that people understand--i.e. genetic mutations are described as " 'mispellings' in an individual's DNA," which, if identified, ""would allow science to identify an individual's disease risks well in advance of onset..."--mutations are just described as spelling errors, which pretty much sums up their basic definition. Also, analogies are sometimes used in order to compare a complicated subject to a much similar topic that everyone can relate to, making them transitively understand the scientific concept.

What specific steps do authors take to encourage their readers to connect with their stories?

Different readers connect to different things in stories, and most everyone is a different reader. Therefore, writers put many different elements into their stories through their characters, settings, and conflicts. For example, Francis Collins in The Covenant is a character who goes through many moral and mental changes, who faces challenges even as Director of the National Institutes of Health. He was essentially a farmboy raised in an agnostic family with little formal schooling. By the time he was studying for his Master's at Yale, he was an atheist. But afterwards, he became a fervent Christian. This and other issues can connect the reader to Collins and the article as a whole.