Little story with a big payoff

One piece of advice from orientation that I’ve tried to put to use is writing the best “little” story possible. A few weeks ago, I was assigned to write about a husband and wife in nearby Defiance, Mo., who won $1 million in the state lottery. It was supposed to be a quick, short read. But I wanted to write the best lottery story ever. So when I met them at the country gas station where they bought the ticket, I looked for good details. It turned out that neither of them planned to quit working. The husband was a construction worker with a laborer’s callused hands. His wife mentioned that she wanted him to get a manicure, so I led with a description of that. (I hope he didn’t catch too much flack at work the next day!) I was really happy with the way the story turned out. It ended up on Page One of the metro section. Another reporter paid me a nice compliment on it, too. It was a nice slice of life in 426 words.

-- Adam Kealoha Causey, Louisiana State University, St. Louis Post-Dispatch