Confession: I'm a crime junkie.

If you peek at my podcast subscriptions, you'll see 95% crime podcasts & 5% writing podcasts.

It probably won't come as a surprise to you that my favorite crime podcast is...

Can you guess?

That's right! Crime Junkie.

I mean, it's everyone's favorite, right?

While I'm certainly fascinated by crime stories, you'll never guess the main reason why Crime Junkie is my favorite:

Ashley Flowers is a master storyteller.

And, writers–especially long-form content writers–can learn so much from her.

It takes a lot of skill to do what Ashley does every week–talk for an hour with the audience hanging on every word.

But Ashley does it.

The Evidence? Crime Junkie occupies a place in the "Top Episodes" spot week after week.

Here's what's particularly interesting about this phenomenon–

Ashley isn't telling new stories.

She is telling the same stories that the crime junkie community has heard a million times.

It's not WHAT she tells us that turns us into loyal fans; it's HOW she tells the stories.

So, what makes Ashley's style so captivating, and what can writers learn from her?

Let's break it down.

1 - Ashley Flowers hooks us with a killer (no pun intended) lede

We don't have to skip 30 seconds ahead to get to the good stuff in a Crime Junkie episode.

Ashley consistently hooks our eager ears from the moment we press play.

Here's an example from a recent episode:

"The story I have today is one that remained unsolved for years, and it very well could have stayed that way if not for one family's relentless pursuit of justice and one detective's keen eye." (From the Janet Aboroa Episode)

This lede makes us immediately want to know how the family relentlessly pursued justice and what the detective saw that other detectives didn't. So, we keep listening.

My writing colleagues at Hashtagpaid are particularly good at writing ledes. Here are some examples.

From Clayton Chambers:

Bah! What, Clayton? What must I know?

From Tiffany Regaudie:

From Laura Leiva:

Why not? What was different than what I expected? Laura makes me read on.

Writers have this responsibility when creating a long-form article: Hook 'em with the first sentence. Say something that makes the audience want to keep reading.

2- Ashley Flowers transports us into the story, speaks conversationally, & appeals to human emotions

When you listen to a Crime Junkie episode, you're part of the story.

Ashley places us smack dab in the middle of events, tells the story as if it's happening RIGHT now, and speaks so conversationally that it feels like we're on the ph0ne with a friend.

Here's an example:

"It's the evening of Wed October 3, 2018, and this woman, Karen Phillips is trying to reach her daughter, 26-yr-old Kierra Coles. She called Kierra that morning but didn't get an answer. And at the time, Karen figured she must have been at the work already for the day. So, she tried again that afternoon but still got no answer. So, she decides to try one more time before she turns in for the night. But even then, still no answer. At the time she is trying not to overreact or fear the worst. Kiera is a grown woman, and surely everything is fine. Maybe she is just out somewhere, forgot to charge her phone, maybe she isn't feeling well and trying to get some sleep-something like that. So when Karen wakes up on Thursday morning, she calls again. And Kierra's phone rolls straight to voicemail."

What can writers learn from a passage like this?

1/Use techniques like present tense and active voice that make it feel like events are happening now and that the reader is part of the story - Ashley says things like "It's the evening of" instead of "Back in 2018, a woman tried to call her daughter." Big difference.

2/Address your audience conversationally - There's no room in any type of storytelling for convoluted language. No matter what kind of content you're writing, write as if you're talking to a friend. Use simple language–even (especially) to explain complex ideas.

3/Appeal to human emotions - Ashley highlights the tiny details that make the story interesting and relatable. She could leave the mother's phone call out of the story entirely, but why would she?!? Humans relate to it. We understand the panic of not being able to reach a loved one. When we hear a mother can't get a hold of her daughter, we worry. We sweat. We emotionally invest in the story.

3- Ashley uses the Rule of 3s

There's a rule in both writing and comedy that says things are funnier and/or more powerful when they come in 3s.

You know, Three men walk into a bar...yadda yadda yadda...

The short psychological explanation? Our brains like a beginning, a middle, and an end.

Threes are more satisfying, punchier, and engaging.

Ashley uses the Rule of 3s often when she tells stories.

Look at the quote above.

You'll notice Ashley mentions three times that Karen tried to get a hold of Kierra. I'm willing to bet Karen called Kierra more like 9,985+ times, but Ashley makes the story stronger by highlighting the three most significant calls.

Want to make your writing better? Start using the Rule of 3s. Ahem...I did this three sentences ago when I said, "Threes are more satisfying (0ne), punchier (two), and engaging (three)."

4- Ashley uses powerful transition phrases

Ashley does something spectacular to keep us on our toes.

She uses several gripping transition phrases throughout her storytelling process.

These phrases propel the story forward and make our ears perk up.

Here's what I mean.

Ashley doesn't say boring shit like:

• And then this happened

• And then her mom called and said, "blahblahblah"

• In a minute, I'm going to tell you what the murderer did

Instead, she says things like:

• And you'll never guess what happened next

• And not even the most trained detective could be prepared for what he was about to see

• And that's when she gets the sinking feeling that something wasn't right

Next time you binge Crime Junkie, listen for the transition phrases.

Writers: Use transition phrases to move your story along and incentivize your readers to keep reading.

Try using some of these transition phrases:

• But, here's the thing

• Let's take a closer look

• And here's the best part

• The reason?

• You'll never guess what happened next :)

• What's more

Write on!