This week’s reading from Anne Lamott’s book Bird by Bird focused on character, plot and dialogue. While discussing character, Lamott requires answers to important character questions: why should we care about them? And what makes us want to know about them?
Especially in photojournalism, we strive to describe people without literal descriptions. Lamott gives the example of how teaching her son peace chants tells more about Lamott’s political beliefs than a more straightforward “these are my beliefs” description.
Also with characters, Lamott highlights on one of my weaknesses: not forcing your characters to be who you want them to be. One can’t choose what the characters do or how they act- they must be allowed to act on their own with you recording it.
Lastly, relating to plot, Lamott discusses a formula Alice Adams created for stories. The formula is ABDCE, standing for action, background, development, climax and ending. The similarities to the photo story formula (for lack of a better word) are obvious. A lede photo, detail scene setter, an interaction shot, a transition for development and lastly a closing. Both models are excellent starts to photo stories.
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