Earn Your Reader's Heart

Exclusive Writing Lab on how to tell the impossible truth with "cues"

Welcome back to Flight School:

In this writing lab, we continue our study of the personal essay Cherish This Ecstasy by David James Duncan, where there is an underlying assumption that he’s writing the truth.

What is the truth, anyway? Isn’t it relative and often subjective? And can we say that we are always telling it?

The good news is that there are built-in techniques in creative non-fiction called “cues to the reader” which can help.

Duncan, well aware of the “truth dilemma” and these simple cues, shows how it’s done.

He gets right to this question of truth in the second line with: “If you can’t buy this, Google it.” (I would have written, “search this on your internet browser” rather than show a preference for a particular service, but this was years ago when Google was considered the source of all-things-internet. We now know that is not true, but I digress).

Duncan performs heavy duty lifting in this one sentence:

1) He follows the form, which you might remember from last week is informal and frank. Applying both, he has slipped out of storyteller mode and into “pal” mode. “Hey, buddy, go check this out. You’ll see.” Even if you don’t jump on your browser of choice, you are more inclined to believe Duncan because of the suggestion.

2) He’s indirectly letting you know that he understands the form well enough to get busy building trust immediately, too, and his transparency increases your comfort with him and the story you’re about to read.

Paid subscribers, thank you! Read on.

Everyone else, like you, I detest paywalls, I do! I know you do, too, but this is where I have to honor myself and ask you to consider becoming a paid subscriber. I hope you will and when you do, you’ll enjoy the rest of this terrific post! 🤗