Hello, dear reader, I hope you’re having a good day. Is it day for you? Is it night? Are you tired? Why are you tired? Questions can go on and on, can’t they? One technique I learned in college was to ask ‘why’ five times to get to the bottom of your problem. An example would be: There is water under my sink. Why? The sink is leaking. Why? I check and find a hole in the pipe. Why is there a hole in the pipe? Further investigation leads to sub-par construction of the pipe. Why was it sub-par? Turns out the contractor wasn’t paid well enough to buy quality pipes. It continues so you can identify the root cause of a problem and work to address it. It can also prevent future mistakes. I probably would go with a different construction company that pays its contractors well after such an experience. How does this help you tell a story? It helps you think critically about problems. Every story has problems. There are plenty of YouTube channels making money criticizing stories.
After you grow more comfortable with storytelling, find a story you like. Whether you listen, read, or play through a story, think about what makes you like it. Was the villain relatable? Was the protagonist interesting? Why was that plot twist so exciting? Now, start asking, “why?”
Okay, that was fun! Let’s experience a bad story now. Yuck. Express your disgust. Swallow it. Then ask yourself, “what made this so bad? Was there anything good about it? What mistakes did it make that I can learn from?” Now tell your story. If you’re confident, ask your audience for feedback. Then ask them why they thought/felt the way they did about the story. Try and get to objective facts they have subjective opinions on. If they thought your protagonist was too whiny, find out what the protagonist did that twisted their ear. Did you want to annoy the audience?
Keep questioning, and don’t give up! Let me know what you think, and feel free to post any other ideas for starting to be a storyteller. Have a good day, dear reader!
After you grow more comfortable with storytelling, find a story you like. Whether you listen, read, or play through a story, think about what makes you like it. Was the villain relatable? Was the protagonist interesting? Why was that plot twist so exciting? Now, start asking, “why?”
Okay, that was fun! Let’s experience a bad story now. Yuck. Express your disgust. Swallow it. Then ask yourself, “what made this so bad? Was there anything good about it? What mistakes did it make that I can learn from?” Now tell your story. If you’re confident, ask your audience for feedback. Then ask them why they thought/felt the way they did about the story. Try and get to objective facts they have subjective opinions on. If they thought your protagonist was too whiny, find out what the protagonist did that twisted their ear. Did you want to annoy the audience?
Keep questioning, and don’t give up! Let me know what you think, and feel free to post any other ideas for starting to be a storyteller. Have a good day, dear reader!