The Ins and Outs of Writing Profiles

There are three ways to structure the story:

• The obituary model, where the most important information appears in the first paragraph.
• The post-hole digger approach, where you pick a very narrow segment of someone's life and go very deep into detail on that segment. It could be a particular year or hobby or event, for example.
• The three-act play approach, where Act 1 introduces the character, his situation and his goal; Act 2 shows the character facing obstacles as tension mounts; and Act 3 is where the action peaks, the character triumphs and gets his/her payoff. Miller said Act 3 is usually the part in the profile where the nonprofit will come into play to help the person get over a barrier.)

Think about the reader. What does he or she want to know? For most, it boils down to two questions: What makes this person so special (not like me)? And how is this person one of us (just like me)?