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I find the addition of the final sentence to be pretty bold. It was entirely fabricated by Mr Adams.



I don't, but then I have worked as a copy editor :)

The words were added by him, but functionally it sums up the point of the story extremely well: we associate art with creativity and inspiration, but leveraging that requires both teamwork and the confidence to trust your teammates. Many otherwise talented people fail in this area; I have, at times.

The version which ended with him saying he answers the phone with similar enthusiasm is not bad, but rather than concluding it just stops; the suspended quality is the equivalent of the awkward conversational pause where someone tells you a story and you're not quite sure if they've finished or not. If you read/hear the story as originally written, it's like a a rough canvas in a cluttered artist's studio: pretty, but increasingly hard to recall in detail as time goes by.

A strong conclusion emphasizes the underlying point and provides a contextual frame for the work, setting it apart from what surrounds it. Notice how the author's 'punchline' on 28/29 was 'made the phone call, changed my life' and he concludes by saying that his friend/mentor died, but keeps him motivated. Adams keeps it on the emotional level, moving from elation/triumph to wistful maturity, giving the advice (to make that call) far more impact: the closing sentence does not reinforce how he got the job - which is the substance and satisfaction of the story - but wonderfully articulates why he got it: because the artist was wise enough to learn from his audience. I could go on at length about how many levels this sentence works on, but its very best aspect is that it would work just as well as an intro to the story:

  - Oh look at (impressive work), creator is/you are so awesome.
  - Yep - but there's more to (field of endeavor) than what you see here. Let me tell you a story about a guy named Keith...
Of course the story is not about Keith, per se; it's about the complex relationship between fear and ego, and how giving up control can be so much more fruitful than jealously defending one's territory. This is what makes it a much more compelling nugget than, say, another tale of making nine cold calls to reach that one customer. The latter is like a story which seems genuinely amusing, but 'you had to be there'. The well-framed story is like the professional comedian's version that everyone can appreciate - 'it's funny because it's true.'

This offers a technique that can be used in many, many contexts, from motivating yourself to communicating with your customers. Ask yourself: what is the point of what I am trying to do here? What is my basic agenda? In short, answer the basic question of why (do you/should I care)? Write that down: whatever you're doing, it's basically your 'mission statement'. Answer that, and the questions of how becomes much easier to articulate and to answer. When you're done, cut the beginning, and rewrite into a firm conclusion. Instead of requesting attention and then struggling to pay for it, stimulate curiosity and then supply a satisfying resolution. By doing so, you become a provider rather than a petitioner and create value for your audience instead of placing demands upon them.

It's astonishing how effectively this simple technique can improve your writing, and by extension, your thinking. An editor's role is to shape a narrative into a story.




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