Dec 07 2020 18 mins
The Art of Storytelling: Finding Your Story
We all know people who are gifted storytellers - people who can captivate a crowd with their tales. While most of these people are charismatic and have a flair for language, they also have one important quality that you don't see: they know what makes a story worth telling.
All good stories have a few elements in common: they contain interesting characters, who are involved in dramatic situations, and they all have a point, or a controlling idea. No one will be enthralled by a story that lacks these key elements.
You may already have a sense of what makes a good story, but you may not be sure where to start when crafting a story of your own. Do you start with an interesting character? A dramatic moment? An intriguing idea?
A good story should have dramatic characters and a good dramatic idea. However, when you're writing short-form content, there's a third possible starting place: the dramatic moment.
Longer-form content give you more time to explore character, to develop plots and subplots, and to suggest ideas. But in the short-form content, you need to be economic and find a quicker route to your story.
A truly dramatic moment has everything a good story needs - interesting characters in compelling situations, who are wrestling with a big idea. If a moment strikes you as dramatic, and you learn how to unpack it, you'll have all the important elements of a good story.
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