The Shiny Dime Challenge

A Shiny Dime is a specific and surprising idea. It's the singular focus of a piece of writing. And it's a concept that will help you capture attention in a crowded world.

Hey writers,

Welcome to week six of the Shiny Dime Challenge. You’ve already learned about one-liners and coined phrases. This week, you’ll focus on the third and final type of Shiny Dime: stories. 

Stories as Shiny Dimes

First, let’s recap the three types of Shiny Dimes and their unique purposes:

1. A one-sentence summary is a stand-alone idea (e.g., “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you”).
2. A coined phrase repackages your idea and gives it a catchy name (e.g., “The Golden Rule”).
3. A story embeds your idea in a narrative (e.g., “The good Samaritan cared for his neighbor”).

Remember: the point of a Shiny Dime is to share a clear, central message with your readers with every piece you publish. The fun part of a Shiny Dime is that you get to choose how you do that. And that’s where stories come in. 

Stories are probably the least obvious and the most memorable Shiny Dimes. Why? They come naturally to us, and they stick in your mind. A simple story can compress a complicated message with ease.  Let’s dive into an example. 

One of the best examples of a story as a Shiny Dime comes from David Foster Wallace’s commencement speech to the 2005 graduating class at Kenyon College. His speech, “This Is Water,” kicks off with this parable:

“There are these two young fish swimming along and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says, ‘Morning, boys. How’s the water?’ And the two young fish swim on for a bit, and then eventually one of them looks over at the other and goes ‘What the hell is water?’”

Wallace goes on to give his full speech; then, closes by connecting his entire message back to the story of the fish:

“The capital-T truth is… about the real value of a real education, which has almost nothing to do with knowledge, and everything to do with simple awareness — awareness of what is so real and essential, so hidden in plain sight all around us, that we have to keep reminding ourselves over and over:

‘This is water. This is water.’” 

By associating a story with his Shiny Dime, Wallace makes his message unforgettable. Like two bookends, the parable of the fish encapsulates his Shiny Dime perfectly (which is why it’s referenced in the title). Let’s break it down.

Wallace’s one-sentence summary: “The value of a real education has almost nothing to do with knowledge, and everything to do with simple awareness.”

Wallace’s Shiny Dime story: Two young fish live in water, but they have no idea what water is. 

See how the two versions of this Shiny Dime convey the same message? Shiny Dimes need to be concise, but that doesn’t mean they need to be boring. As you write, remember that you have full freedom to stretch your creative legs and run. Stories are one of the best ways to do this. 

A Shiny Dime story is visceral and tangible, concrete and immediate. A story can be the most effective (and interesting) way to compress an idea and make it memorable. By using a story as his Shiny Dime, David Foster Wallace could express the main idea of his twenty-two-minute commencement speech in just three words: “This is water. This is water.” (It sounds so nice the way he says it twice.)

No matter what your idea is, you can support it with an anecdote or embed it in a narrative. This week, see what Shiny Dime stories you can identify in the real world. What blogs or books use stories as Shiny Dimes?

Today, head into Circle to read your peer’s Shiny Dimes from last week. You’ll receive your new writing prompt and access to this week’s Circle space on Wednesday. 

Happy writing,

The Write of Passage Team