STORYTELLING
Two main building blocks
- Sequence of actions – anecdote – that creates suspense and raises questions along the way (and readers expect those questions to be answered)
- Moment(s) of reflection on the suspense and questions raised
Can have great facts, but boring execution of above; can have boring facts and excellent execution of above.
Difficult to find a real story. What about for fiction? Looking within? Is there a tipping point of personal memories that create a story?
Every story isn’t going to be great or usable. Need to learn to abandon crap. Don’t want to be making mediocre stuff. Like golf – looking for that one great shot that keeps you going until the next time.
When starting a creative career, your taste may be killer, but your ability is below what you like. You know that your work is crappy – need to get past this phase!
Common pitfalls
- Trying to imitate something you’ve seen. Just talk like a normal human being – this could go for writing, too. Go with your own flow.
- Not showing your personality interacting with other human beings. Can’t have too much “you” or too much of the other characters.