Points of view that differ from the standard, detached newspaper story make readers stay with a story just as the story will stay with them

Try changing your point of view.

By point of view I mean not your outlook on or opinion of the story. I mean the person through whose eyes it is told.

The traditional news point of view is the writer's - detached from the action, emotionless, presumably unbiased, a telling of connected facts. And usually dull.

But if you can find a person who lived some aspect of the story (and someone lives every news story in some way), you give yourself a powerful writing tool. And potentially endless variety.

For the readers, seeing a story through another person's eyes helps them relive and understand it more fully.

It also gives them:

• A believable source - the voice of experience.

• An automatic frame of reference and understanding - the human condition, which we all share.

• An emotional connection - this is something we seek far too seldom, to our discredit.

• An intellectual connection - when combined with emotion, this lure is almost irresistible.

The result: storytelling that makes readers want to read.

Through their eyes

Into view by turns came Hawkeye, B.J., Maj. Houlihan, Klinger, even Col. Potter, all bending down to speak words of encouragement and comfort. Radar followed the stretcher into pre-op, asking where the soldier was from and telling him what swell guys the surgeons were.

Because we saw them through the soldier's eyes, we could feel and understand their compassion more fully than by simply witnessing it through the camera's detached eye. Those qualities struck with greater impact because we lived them through the soldier's eyes and ears.

In the same way, writers can use characters as a sort of camera lens through which the readers experience the story.

We need only recognize which characters can tell the story best or most compellingly.

Choose carefully

Here's her opening:

HAMMOND - As flashing blue and red lights lit up the night sky, Jim Riley stood on the curb just behind a line of yellow police tape, staring in shock at the smashed windshield of his gray pickup truck, still parked and idling in the middle of Kennedy Avenue.

A few feet away lay the crumpled body of 52-year-old James E. McGregor of 6924 McCook Ave. in Hammond. His battered body was covered with a white sheet.

"I could barely see the man standing in the street," Riley said late Thursday, describing how he had passed McGregor in the 6700 block of Kennedy Avenue just moments before a speeding southbound car struck him.

"I saw the other car hit him," Riley continued, looking shaken. "Then he went up in the air and flipped over and hit me."

Such characters often jump out at us, especially in deadline situations. At other times, we need to seek them out, filtering out potential points of view that don't carry as much intrinsic interest or storytelling potential.

Remember that any story can have a number of different points of view.

Take the usual fatal crash. It offers, among others: the victim, other drivers or passengers, eyewitnesses, police, EMTs or paramedics, even the tow truck operators.

No matter which you choose, it's vital to pick someone who illustrates the dramatic heart of the story.

Give it a try next time you head out. You may surprise yourself with the results.

McGrath is the writing coach for the Munster (Ind.) Times. Call him at 800/837-3232, ext. 3239 or e-mail him at mcgrath@howpubs.com.