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If circumstances allow, write a story, not an exposé. Create suspense. Use dialogue. Shift perspective. Circle and loop. Experiment with Chekhov’s gun. Heed Elmore Leonard’s “10 Rules of Writing,” particularly No. 10: “Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip.” Beware of formula and lose the bullets. (They’re more like tranquilizer darts, likely to put readers to sleep.)