Storytelling

• Is knowing your punchline & your ending.

• Know that everything you’re saying, from the first sentence to the last, is leading to a singular goal, of who we are as human beings.

• Mr. Rogers always carried in his wallet a quote from a social worker that said, “Frankly, there isn’t anyone you couldn’t learn to love once you’ve heard their story.”

• Andrew Stanton of Pixar interprets this as “Make Me Care” - emotionally, intellectually, aesthetically, just make me care.

• What a story does is it’s fundamentally making a promise that it will lead somewhere that’s worth your time.

• This can be done infinitely. Sometimes it’s as simple as “Once upon a time…”

• Narrators can be a fantastic device. It’s like inviting you around the campfire, or in a bar saying, “Here, let me tell you a story. It didn’t happen to me, it happened to somebody else, but it’s going to be worth your time.”

• That promise should propel you across the story like a pebble across a pond.

• Storytelling without dialogue. It’s the purest form of cinematic storytelling. It’s the most inclusive approach you can take.

• An audience wants to work for their meal. They just don’t want to know that they’re doing it. Your job is to hide their work. We’re compelled to deduce & to deduct, because that’s real life.

• Draw us in! There’s a reason we’re all attracted to an infant or a puppy. It’s not just that they’re damn cute, it’s because they can’t express what they’re thinking & what their intentions are. Magnet! We can’t stop ourselves from wanting to complete the sentence & fill it in.

• All well-drawn characters have a spine, an inner motor, a dominant, unconscious goal that they’re reaching for.

Story - 4 Basic Components

• Character

• Desire

• Conflict

• Resolution

Story - Structure

• Act 1 - Beggining

• Inciting Event

• Act 2 - Middle

• Climax

• Act 3 - End

• Intro

• Discovery

• Action

• Setback

• Reconsider

• Climax

• Resolution

Improving Writing: Storytelling

Storytelling is about knowing your punchline and your ending.

From the first sentence to the last, every word should lead to a singular goal: understanding who we are as human beings.

Mr. Rogers always carried a quote in his wallet from a social worker, which said, "Frankly, there isn't anyone you couldn't learn to love once you've heard their story."

Andrew Stanton of Pixar interprets this as "Make Me Care" - emotionally, intellectually, aesthetically, just make me care.

A story fundamentally makes a promise that it will lead somewhere worth your time.

This can be done infinitely. Sometimes it's as simple as "Once upon a time..."

Narrators can be a fantastic device, like inviting someone around a campfire or saying, "Let me tell you a story. It didn't happen to me, but it's going to be worth your time."

That promise should propel you across the story like a pebble across a pond.

Storytelling without dialogue is the purest form of cinematic storytelling and the most inclusive approach.

An audience wants to work for their meal, but they don't want to be aware of it. Your job is to hide their work. We're compelled to deduce and deduct because that's real life.

Draw us in! There's a reason we're all attracted to infants or puppies. It's not just because they're cute, but because they can't express their thoughts and intentions. We can't help but want to complete the sentence and fill it in.

Well-drawn characters have a spine, an inner motor, a dominant, unconscious goal that they're reaching for.

The basic components of a story are:

1. Character

2. Desire

3. Conflict

4. Resolution

The structure of a story includes:

Act 1 - Beginning

• Inciting Event

Act 2 - Middle

• Climax

Act 3 - End

• Introduction

• Discovery

• Action

• Setback

• Reconsideration

• Climax

• Resolution