the
conventional way since we must have the whole story to be interested in
any single part--it has too many striking incidents in it. On the other
hand, a story which contains only one striking incident is much easier
to handle. Suppose that we are reporting a fire which is interesting
only for its cause or for a daring rescue in it. Our lead would suggest
this interesting element and the first part of our story would be
devoted entirely to the cause or to the rescue, as the case might be.
But it is better to sketch briefly, immediately after or very close to
the lead, the entire story, for our readers want to know how it ends
before they can be interested in any particular part. If we sketch the
whole story and show them that there is only one important thing in the
story, they will be satisfied to read about the one striking incident
without wondering if there is not something more interesting further on.
If we leave the conclusion of the story to the end of our copy the
editor may cut it off and leave our story dangling in midair. Every
story must be treated in its own way, according to its own incidents and
difficulties; no two stories are alike in substance or treatment. In
every one our aim must be to keep to the logical order and at the same
time to put the most interesting parts of the story near the beginning.

The construction of the body of a story may be illustrated more clearly
by a fatal fire story--since fire stories are more uniform, and hence
easier to write than other news stories. Let us suppose that the story
is as follows: At four o'clock in the afternoon a fire started from some
unknown cause in the basement of a four-story brick building at 383-385
Sixth Street, occupied by the Incandescent Light Company. Before the
fire company arrived the flames had spread up through the building and
into an adjoining three-story brick building at 381 Sixth Street,
occupied by Isaac Schmidt's second-hand store and home on the first and
second floors and by Mrs. Sarah Jones's boarding house on the third. The
Schmidts were away and Mrs. Jones's lodgers escaped via the fire
escapes. Her cook, Hilda Schultz, was overcome by smoke and had to be
carried out by Jack Sweeney, a lodger. Mrs. Jones fell from the fire
escape and was badly bruised. Meanwhile the firemen were at work on the
roof of the burning four-story building. Blinded by the smoke, one of
them, John MacBane, stepped through a skylight and fell to the fou