Storytelling Tips
Sometimes I just stop watching a video because it doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. It’s just someone talking, and even if there is a clear subject to the video (maybe from the clickbait title) there’s no structure or development or surprise.
I don’t consider myself to be a natural storyteller. Coming from a business background, I often try to be succinct, straight to the point. Which can work sometimes, but usually we need more, we need to give more context in order to communicate well. To be memorable and clear.
It’s not easy though to tell good stories, to grab and keep the attention of a viewer or reader. But it is something we can learn and practice and develop, so I’ve been researching and pulling together thoughts and techniques to help.
(Much of the following is borrowed from the excellent Stephen Pressfield book “Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t” and a few other sources that I’ll list at the end.)
Concept
Not just ‘what’s it about?’, but what’s unique to this story, what makes it different and interesting? What makes me want to watch?
A concept might frames (or re-frame) a subject or issue.
What are we trying to communicate in it’s most simple form? A sentence or two.
Questions to answer (not just for fiction)
What’s the genre?
What’s the theme?
What’s the climax?
Who’s the hero?
Who’s the villain?
What are the stakes?
What is the jeopardy?
Is the aim to entertain or inform, or both?
Techniques
Start at the end and work backward.
Borrow ideas from other genres
Every character represents something greater than themselves
Every prop should represent something important to the theme
Leave your own ego out of it - make it about the reader/viewer
Show, don’t tell
What’s the question the film will answer?
Be aware of both the physical and emotional/spiritual journeys of the main characters
What makes the hero unique? What are their flaws or challenges? What makes them an underdog?
Start in the middle of the action (‘In Medias Res’)
Up the stakes - make it ‘life or death’ if possible
Write for a star (would DeNiro/Streep/Clooney want to play this role?)
Leave ambiguity. Don’t spell it all out. Try to leave depth and layers and details to be discovered.
Write non-fiction as if it was fiction
A Few More Details (from “Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t”)
Every work must be about something. It must have a theme.
Every work must have a concept, that is, a unique twist or slant or framing device.
Every work must start with an Inciting Incident.
Every work must be divided into three acts (or seven or eight or nine David Lean sequences).
Every character must represent something greater than himself/herself.
The protagonist embodies the theme.
The antagonist personifies the counter-theme.
The protagonist and antagonist clash in the climax around the issue of the theme.
The climax resolves the clash between the theme and the counter-theme.
Structure
There are various theories and approaches for structuring a story, with variations in different international cultures and different formats. For example, a tv series or a novel, likely to be consumed over a longer period of time, will likely include more repetition than a feature film.
Most include, at a high level, a three part structure. Typically the Hook, Build and Payoff. The ‘Inciting Incident’ starts the story (you can guess what the story is about, and maybe anticipate the climax), and there’s an ‘All Is Lost’ moment when it seems like the story can’t end well.
Dean Koontz’s Classic Story Structure
Plunge your main character into terrible trouble as soon as possible.
Everything your character does to get out of the terrible trouble makes things only worse.
The situation appears hopeless.
Finally, your hero succeeds (or fails*) against all odds.
The Heroes Journey (by Joseph Campbell)
Hero starts in Ordinary World
Hero meets Mentor, accepts Call
Hero enters different World
Hero encounters enemies and allies, undergoes ordeal
Hero confronts Villain, acquires Treasure
Hero escapes Special World
Villains pursue Hero. Hero must fight/escape again
Hero returns home with Treasure, as a changed person
Dan Harmon’s Story Circle
A character is in a zone of comfort
But they want something
They enter an unfamiliar situation
Adapt to it
Get what they wanted
Pay a heavy price for it
Then return to their familiar situation
Having changed
It’s striking how these structures fit so many stories that we’re familiar with, from Star Wars to Forrest Gump. But the hero might also be the viewer, or belief, or the planet. The villain might be a condition or an emotion or an environment. The story might be a commercial or a presentation or a chat with your kid. Who doesn’t want to hear about a hero, and believe that maybe, just maybe, we could be a hero one day too?
References
