How to Become a Better Storyteller
Introduction:
Everyone loves a good story, but what makes a story good? People have told me often that I’m good at telling stories but I’ve never actually sat down to think about what exactly that means - until now. I want to be the best storyteller / writer I can be and below you’ll find my notes on how I’m trying to do just that. I hope they serve you well.
Why do we tell stories?
Stories are functional. Stories allow us to transfer information, emotion, and wisdom to one another. Stories are valuable to us because they have the potential to give us insights, emotions or information we did not have before, and that may serve us in the future.
You can learn about locations, landmarks and geographies once unknown to you
You can learn about how exactly to pop your shoulder back into place if you ever took a tumble
You can learn how to avoid heartbreak without experiencing the pain of it for yourself
You can make others feel good around you by cracking a joke
Every story is about a character trying to accomplish something while obstacles get in their way.
Stories are about the reasons and actions a character takes in the face of that adversity.
Stories are about transformation: going from what is to what ought to be.
Stories are about turning the unknown into the known.
The most important part of the story is it’s end. What will the listener get for listening to your story?
The 6 core questions:
Who’s it about?
What do they want / what is their visible goal / what is their invisible goal?
Why can’t they get it / what is their wound?
What do they do about that?
Why doesn’t that work?
How does it end / what’s the payoff for the listener?
Story process:
Exposition
Inciting incident: what makes the character want / need to change?
Rising action
Midpoint / twist / climax / all is lost moment
Falling action
Resolution
Thoughts:
Stories work because of empathy. Your goal as a storyteller is to take the listener on the same emotional journey as your protagonist.
All characters want to fulfill some emotional need. Stories revolve around the action that a character takes to satisfy their emotional need.
All stories are universal. The stories aren’t about me, they are about a person who is striving towards their goal. This is the human endeavor.
If you know who you want your character to be by the end of your book, you know exactly how it should start. In the beginning: your character will be the opposite of who they are at the end.
The goals and stakes are clearly visible.
You have to be able to boil it down into a sentence (log line)
People root for the underdog
Every character thinks they are the main character
The fundamental game of human interaction is “please / no”
Writing is a process of asking questions
The character meets people that will either help or harm them on their journey
We tell stories to understand ourselves better
Emotion comes from conflict, not peace
Scenes:
Scenes are the building blocks of a story. They reveal the next step of a character’s plan to move from where they are to where they want to be. Scenes are the vehicle for visible (what we see) and invisible (what we feel) transformation.
If a scene does not transform your character’s situation in a visible or invisible way - get rid of it.
What does my character want in this scene, and will it move my character closer to his goal? Every scene has to move the character closer to their visible goal or force them to face a previously unseen obstacle. The obstacle can be internal or external
Elements of a good story:
A near constant element of mystery to keep the listener engaged. Once one mystery is solved, another must take it’s place. Intrigue is born from the unspoken. People like to figure things out for themselves. People want the clues. A good story remains unsolved until it’s satisfying end.
We don’t want things to be easy for our protagonist. We want to see the strength in him that we want to have or that we believe that we have.
A good story focuses on a character’s flaws. It is by addressing their flaws that they transform and grow into more.
Large victories should come at the end
Victories in the middle should be short lived and overshadowed by a looming unease or uncertainty
Every action has a stake. No stakes, no excitement
Relatable with just enough novelty. Tension, mystery, easy to read (elementary school level writing)
Stories and neurology:
When we are told a story, our brains light up 5x and release oxytocin, the bonding neurochemical.
The magical science of storytelling: turning $129 into over $8000
the more emotionally invested you are in something, the less critical you become
the greatest emotional investment of all is falling in love
The angel’s cocktail
Dopamine: cliffhangers make you want to know what’s next
Oxytocin: stories that involve empathy will emotionally bond the speaker and listener
Endorphins: make people relaxed and giggly
The devil’s cocktail:
Cortisol: worry / long term stressors
Adrenaline: jump scares
What is my story?
Who do I want to transform into?
Who am I now?
What are my greatest flaws?
My Critical flaws
Bad memory
Emotionally stunted
Impatient
Inconsistent
What is the moral or my story?
Change is possible
One person is capable of great change
It is possible to succeed as your authentic self
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Live without regret
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Becoming a Better Writer
Read more about many different kinds of writing
Read the best stuff
Write first, edit later. Write without inhibition, edit with clarity. In the beginning, it will always feel bad. Edit after at least 1 night of good sleep
Read more about writing
steering the craft
on writing
plus (a coach or mentor), minus (someone you are teaching), equals (peers)
Read your first drafts out loud
You want your writing to be as simple as possible
Copy good writers
Less is more. If it doesn’t need to be said..
Contrast your pacing: long elaborations into short punchlines
Punctuate with purpose
Parentheses add personality
Nothing is original. Start copying what you love. copy, copy, copy, and at the end you will find yourself
Use strong verbs (cut “ing” and “to be” verbs)
Describe, don’t explain
Be specific
Find the hope and despair in every scene.
find the hope in the despair
find the despair in the hope
A character’s contradictions are what make them interesting
How can I make this more interesting?
Write on paper
“provided an explanation” vs. “explained”
Writing anything is a story: what’s the point / payoff for your reader or viewer?
Avoid contractions, idioms, and colloquial sentences for formal writing
Vary your sentence structure some short
Active > Passive voice
Copy-writing: copy the writers you want to sound like.
Published > draft. Continue to write poorly in public until you become a better writer. Shipping nothing is safe
Writing is about paradigm shifts: reexamining the familiar from a different perspective
Idea delivery:
Putting yourself out there is a way to increase your exposure to serendipity. You increase the likelihood of wonderfully random things happening to you. (I have to put myself out there). Writing is a serindipity vehicle
Writing is a way of communicating with yourself
You are not the only one interested in what you are writing about. Just put yourself out there
Intentional consumption
Distill information and reflection
Creation / application
adjust process to serve goals
