Story Machine [320]

The learning edition...

Greetings and welcome to the forth issue in a five part mini series covering themes chosen by Dispatch members.

So far we’ve had ‘Lifted’, ‘Leftover’ and ‘Listening’. This issue with words and rushed illustrations by me is themed ‘Learning’.

So, in this fourth issue I thought I’d give you a taste of the kind of thing I deliver in my workshops. In fact i’ll soon the pleasure of heading to Scotland to deliver on this very topic.

Of course, the following 1500 words do not contain the breakouts, practicals and discussion, that make a workshop such a great interactive learning experience, but this glimpse should hopefully get you thinking.

And while reading, if you suddenly get the urge to hire me to deliver a workshop for you… One to one, one to a few, or for your organisation, you only need ask by replying to this email. I cover a variety of topics around content creation. Including, blogging, videography, video editing, podcasting, interview techniques and the subject we shall take a look at this week, narrative strategy.

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Storytelling Workflows

So. Let us explore a workflow surrounding the telling of a story.

First off I’ll assume you know what a story is. Or at least are familiar with its different shapes and guises.

Stories give meaning to everything. They connect us. They can tell us how to live, show us who we are, even tell us why we’re here.

If I was to over simplify, a story is an account of events or incidents. It is also a journey. This happened, then this happened, and I thought this, and I felt that, and so on.

There isn’t really a beginning or end to a story. But we occasionally need to choose something easily digestible to share. When faced with so many possibilities this can seem overwhelming. But humans are natural born storytellers, it’s in our DNA, and with a little practice you’ll find it easy to seed your ideas in the world.

There are many different ways of telling a story, but only a handful of basic plots.

1. Rags to riches - A rising from the ashes

2. The quest - A journey towards a goal

3. Rebirth - A story of renewal or recovery

4. Overcoming the monster - The David and Goliath underdog story

5. Comedy - A look at the funny side

6. Tragedy - A glimpse at the dark side

7. Voyage and return - A transformation and homecoming

When I’m not just throwing stuff at the internet in the hope it sticks, I have a six part workflow I can fall back on.

Part One - Find your Objective. Before you start to tell your story, consider what it is you are trying to achieve in the telling.

Part Two - Storyboard. Sketch out and visualise the story arc.

Part Three - Collate, curate and create. Gather your content together.

Part Four - Build. Piece together your story.

Part Five - Revise. Get feedback, re-edit and reflect.

Part Six - Share. Publish and get it out there.

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So let’s dig into these...