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Every great story begins with a well-defined audience.

Who is the audience? What do they consciously (or subconsciously) want from the story?

Be deliberate with this exercise.

Be honest with yourself. The audience may look different than you expect.

“People have forgotten how to tell a story. Stories don’t have a middle or an end anymore. They usually have a beginning that never stops beginning.” – Steven Spielberg

Stories need structure.

Clear narrative arcs (like Pixar’s “hero’s journey”) work well.

Playwright Kenn Adams created a neat framework - “the story spine” - for establishing structure:

Once upon a time there was [blank]. Every day, [blank]. One day [blank]. Because of that, [blank]. Until finally [bank].

Fill it in and watch your story take shape

Emotion is what makes great stories stick with you.

Think about your favourite stories. How did they make you feel?

It’s a safe bet that they elicited a strong emotional response.

Learn from this. Weave emotion into the foundational fabric of every story.

Every great story is infused with novelty.

Novelty comes in many different forms:

Fresh, new perspectives. Surprising insights. Shock-and-awe moments. Unexpected twists.

The goal is to make your audience say: “Oh, wow!”

If you’re falling short, dig deeper.

Storytelling expert Nancy Duarte coined the “what is vs. what could be” framework.

First, describe the reality (“what is”).

Next, describe the potential future (“what could be”).

This framework forces you to create contrasts to craft a captivating narrative.

Disney is the greatest storytelling empire of all time.

Walt Disney was famous for his focus on suspending reality for his audiences - allowing them to experience his new reality while still being in their reality.

Take a lesson from the best. Suspend reality.

“Make it simple, but significant.” - Don Draper

A good story may be complex, but a great story is always simple.

Try to elevator pitch the story to an uninformed party. Are they able to understand it? If not, you still have work to do.

When in doubt, simplify!

Shared community is an insanely powerful force.

The best stories (and the best storytellers) foster community - they elicit a sense of shared purpose, shared membership in a group, or shared experience.

Stories that build communities last forever.

Stories are meant to be shared.

The story “K-factor” - a viral marketing metric for growth - should be high.

This requires high shareability.

To enhance it: Keep it simple and make it easy to “take down” into shorter, alternative versions.

Most great writers and storytellers agree on one thing: starting is the hardest part.

There is nothing more daunting than a blank page.

So start fast - get a draft down (and don’t worry about how bad it is).

Then slow down - write & rewrite as necessary.