Thomas Edison: An Insatiable Curiosity

"Genius is 1% inspiration, 99% inspiration." (Thomas Edison, 1903)

A young Thomas Edison courtesy 

https://media1.britannica.com/eb-media/53/79853-004-B3BAD618.jpg.

While Thomas Edison's most famous patent is the electric light bulb, he is credited with over 1000 inventions.  While he had many brilliant ideas, he credits his work ethic as the reason for his success.

Growing up in Port Huron, Michigan, a young Edison would often rock his parents' basement with his experiments (http://alinefromlinda.blogspot.ca/2012/02/thomas-edison-canadian-connection.html).  He continued his experiments while working as a newsboy on the Port Huron-Detroit train route, a practice which led to his firing after a fire broke out.  His curiosity never satiated, Edison would read at the Detroit Library while he waited for the train to return to Port Huron.  Finally, he narrowly averted disaster when he almost blew up the telegraph office in his hometown.  

Thomas Edison at Menlo Park courtesy 

http://www.menloparkmuseum.org/history/thomas-edison-and-menlo-park/.

That insatiable curiosity drove Edison's experiments as an adult at his laboratory in Menlo Park, New Jersey where he experienced some of "his finest hours".  It was here that Edison invented one of his chief patents, the phonograph, along with his most famous invention, the electric lightbulb.  The brilliant scientist attracted a loyal supply of workers in his laboratory.  A reconstruction of his Menlo Park Lab can be visited at Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan http://alinefromlinda.blogspot.ca/2013/08/august-3.html).

Edison went on to perfect Nikola Tesla's AC current invention which he used to light 100,000 incandescent lamps at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893 (see "Devil in the White City" at http://alinefromlinda.blogspot.ca/2014/07/july-1.html).  Over 27 million people visited the "City of Light" and realized that electric light was the wave of the future.      

Chicago World's Fair City of Light circa 1893 courtesy https://historyrat.wordpress.com/2013/01/13/lighting-the-1893-worlds-fair-the-race-to-light-the-world/.

It seems that Edison's near disasters in his parents' basement, on the train and at the telegraph office, were all part of his natural curiosity.  His curiosity coupled with his perseverance, were a recipe for success.

U.S. Stamp circa 1947 on the 100th anniversary of Thomas Edison's birth courtesy https://www.entrepreneur.com/slideshow/231710. 

How to Finish Off Your Article with a Bang

"When you've found your concordant ending, you'll know." (Michelle Ruberg)

How do you finish off your article with a big bang?  Michelle Ruberg, author of Writer's Digest Handbook of Magazine Article Writing, recommends that you end with a quote.  Do you have a statement that sums up the issue while adding a touch of pathos?

Despite resistance from the city's gaming commission, Dr. Ellen Parker and other ecologists continue to search for a safe home for the endangered birds because they believe each creature plays a vital role in our ecosystem.  'If this creature were to disappear, it would cause an explosion in the insect population and that could have a disastrous effect on local agriculture,' Parker said.  'Then it's not just about the birds.  The problem will affect all of us.'"

In order to pack an emotional punch, respond briefly to the end quote, ideally including the reader in the story.

Another way to end your article is to bring it full circle:  revisit a word, phrase or idea that you included in the introduction, often in a different or humorous way.  Lauren Mosko in the Louisville Eccentric Observer does this effectively.

Lead:
The Rudyard Kipling.  It's a restaurant, it's a bar, it's a playhouse, it's a musical venue...it's a garage. You're out of luck if you're looking for an oil change, but if it's garage rock you're seeking, you've come to the right place.

End:
Three bands, three chords, one night.  It may sound like a garage, but if you're not there by nine, don't expect to find a decent parking space.

Michelle Ruberg suggests reaching a higher ground by introducing a provocative statement or unexplored question at the end of your piece.  "Plant a seed of curiosity in the reader's mind."

Today, The New Yorker featured Sarah Larson's article "East Village Fire:  Love Saves the Day".  She ended it with this paragraph:

"The East Village has long intermingled love and loss:  signs of bygone eras and heroes are everywhere.  The loss of these buildings;  the places we loved, the relocation of the people who lived and worked there, the memories of what used to be, as of yesterday -- is painful.  Not knowing what happened to Nicholas Figueroa and Moises Locon is unimaginably so."

Speak a common language.  Break one of the rules of writing by including a cliche at the end of your article, part of your reader's collective knowledge bank.  During the Gulf War, there was a national press blackout.  An article about the issue could have ended like this, according to Michelle Ruberg:

And so, for twenty four hours, the country received absolutely no news on the conflict.  Whoever said that's good news couldn't have been a journalist.  Or the parent of a soldier."

The reference, of course, is to the maxim "No news is good news".

Lastly, trust your gut; end your article at a logical place.  You've said what needed to be said; now it's time to end it.  As Michelle Ruberg says:  "When you've found your concordant ending, you'll know."

For more information, read Writer's Digest Handbook of Magazine Article Writing (Michelle Ruberg) at http://www.amazon.ca/Writers-Handbook-Magazine-Article-Writing/dp/1582973342.

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