Thanks for sharing these storytelling ideas, and for introducing me to the work of The Moth!

I have to caution that fiction shouldn’t be conflated with blog posts and most non-fiction writing, like case studies for business. With the latter, mystery is the enemy of clarity. To delay or shroud the point or outcome merely frustrates the reader.

With online non-fiction writing the need to ‘start with the end' can be adversely influenced by monetary interests to keep the reader clicking, scrolling, and viewing. To keep their integrity the non-fiction online writer needs to resist these pressures.

I like your point about ‘top-5 list’-type writing. We can only hope the inundation of ‘top 3 reasons my cat is my best friend’-type articles has peaked and will fade into obscurity! It is such a cheap, almost vulgar, method for holding the reader’s attention. That’s a takeaway I got from your article: ‘hold the reader’s attention through sincere and energetic means, not with cheap ploys’. Energy should near a peak after that first sentence!

I hope to get The Moth and read it this weekend, thanks for letting me know about it!