how to know you have a good story

S

How to Know You Have a GOOD STORY

With Brian Bird

World Vision Website forJOURNEY TO JAMAA

http://jamaa.worldvision.org

1. Do you have CONFIRMATION?

Do you have confirmation from at least TWO other people whose opinions you trust?

1. Do you have CONFIRMATION?

Do you have confirmation from at least TWO other people whose opinions you trust?

It can’t be: MommyAunt Connie from AlbuquerqueAnybody who is so biased

toward you, they won’t be honest

1. Do you have CONFIRMATION?

Do you have confirmation from at least TWO other people whose opinions you trust?

It should be: Another qualified story-teller/ communicator who will be honest

Somebody’s who’s been in the media/story battle for a long time

Respected Thought/Opinion leader

2. Tell a TRUE STORY if you can

Why are true stories better… as opposed to fictional stories?

2. Tell a TRUE STORY if you can

True stories… Are more promotable Provide story credibility Help an audience identify/relate/put

themselves in the story Affirm life as opposed to being just

dismissed as entertainment

2. Tell a TRUE STORY if you can

Bonus lesson about True Stories… If you’re making a documentary… stay as close to

the facts as possible If you’re making a narrative film… stay as close

to the facts as possible… … but never let the facts get in the way of telling

the most effective story (dramatic license)

3. Do you have a GASP FACTOR?

Others have called it the WOW or GEE WHIZ FACTOR

3. Do you have a GASP FACTOR?

Others have called it the WOW or GEE WHIZ FACTOR

When pitching the story, it’s the one idea that causes the biggest physical reaction from your audience

3. Do you have a GASP FACTOR?

In J2J, our GASP came from our mysterious box on wheels

4. Do you have a strong CHARACTER QUEST for your Protagonist?

There is only one kind of story-telling in which a protagonist doesn’t grow…

4. Do you have a strong CHARACTER QUEST for your Protagonist?

There is only one kind of story-telling in which a protagonist doesn’t grow…

… REALLY BAD STORY-TELLING

4. Do you have a strong CHARACTER QUEST for your Protagonist?

There is only one kind of story-telling in which a protagonist doesn’t grow…

… REALLY BAD STORY-TELLING A character that does not grow, is a really

poorly drawn character

4. Do you have a strong CHARACTER QUEST for your Protagonist?

The only predictable thing about human nature is that it is always changing. Well-drawn characters must go on personal quests or journeys.

So you must know your characters thoroughly

It’s the way to help your audience fall in love

4. Do you have a strong CHARACTER QUEST for your Protagonist?

The only predictable thing about human nature is that it is always changing. Well-drawn characters must go on personal quests or journeys.

It is a journey of growth: From despair to hope From uncertainty to conviction From animosity to love From hope to despair

5. Does your story have a natural 3-ACT STRUCTURE?

All great stories throughout history (even Jesus’ parables) were told in a 3-Act sweep

Beginning, middle and end 3 Acts seem to resonate with most human

actions or interactions, whether real or fictional

Before the Action During the Action After the Action

5. Does your story have a natural 3-ACT STRUCTURE?

Act 1 is about WHO introducing your hero and his quest (also poses

the BIG QUESTION of the story) Act 2 is about WHAT

intensify quest with complications Act 3 is about HOW WHO accomplishes the WHAT

resolves the quest either tragically, or triumphantly (also answers the BIG QUESTION of the story)

6. Do you know your ENDING?

Does your story naturally build to an exciting or rewarding Act 3 climax or resolve?

Always build your story with the end in mind…

6. Do you know your ENDING?

Does your story naturally build to an exciting or rewarding Act 3 climax or resolve?

Always build your story with the end in mind…

… or you will wind up with an end that is mindless

6. Do you know your ENDING?

The benefits of a good ending…

6. Do you know your ENDING?

The benefits of a good ending…

Culminates the action Fulfills the hero’s quest Answers the BIG QUESTION asked in Act 1 Rewards the audience love affair with your

central character

6. Do you know your ENDING?

In J2J, our children find their new home… the answer to the central question of the story

7. Do you have your “ROSEBUD”?

A “Rosebud” is that central object/token/souvenir/memento that serves as a “golden thread” woven through your story.

7. Do you have your “ROSEBUD”?

A “Rosebud” is that central object/token/souvenir/memento that serves as a “golden thread” woven through your story.

It symbolizes your hero’s: Central goal of the journey A lost, or hoped for ideal Object of biggest fear Reward for going on the quest

7. Do you have your “ROSEBUD”?

In Citizen Kane, Rosebud was the name of Kane’s boyhood sled. It represented the purity and innocence of his childhood, the last time he could remember actually being happy.

7. Do you have your “ROSEBUD”?

In Inception, the spinning top represented a totem for Leonardo DeCaprio’s Cobb character. The top spinning or not spinning was the only evidence Cobb had to tell him if he was still dreaming or back in the real world. But it also represented for him his last connection to the real world… like a lifeline to pull himself back from the brink. Audiences were haunted by the ambiguous ending of the top still spinning… or was it wobbling?

7. Do you have your “ROSEBUD”?

In Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid, the white straw hat of La Forge, the man who was pursuing them to the ends of the earth, represented their greatest fear and the unforgiving march of their mortality. Imagine, two hardened outlaws afraid of a white straw hat?

7. Do you have your “ROSEBUD”?

In The Passion, Mel Gibson used the eerily evil androgynous woman with the man’s voice and her strange “old man” baby to represent the looming specter of Satan and his demons flagrantly operating on the human plane where only Jesus could see them. But they symbolize the eternal fear we have of the spiritual realm and battle that exists just beyond the veil.

7. Do you have your “ROSEBUD”?

In Cinema Paradiso, the box of filmed kissing scenes clipped by the priest out of all the movies showing in the town’s cinema become a discovered souvenir for adult Toto. They were left to him him by the town’s projectionist Fredo upon his death. As Toto watches a compilation of them at the end of the film, they represent for him a return to the innocence of youth, the joy of first love, and the celebration of community.

8. Are you communicating a TRANSCENDANT THEME?

From the beginning of time, what do children ask of their parents at bedtime?

8. Are you communicating a TRANSCENDANT THEME?

From the beginning of time, what do children ask of their parents at bedtime?

“Tell me a story”

8. Are you communicating a TRANSCENDANT THEME?

From the beginning of time, what do children ask of their parents at bedtime?

“Tell me a story”

Why do people love stories? 

8. Are you communicating a TRANSCENDANT THEME?

Throughout history, human beings have responded to common themes or meta-messages in stories:

8. Are you communicating a TRANSCENDANT THEME?

Throughout history, human beings have responded to common themes or meta-messages in stories:

Forgiveness Sacrifice Redemption Resurrection Courage, nobility

8. Are you communicating a TRANSCENDANT THEME?

People love stories that explore transcendent themes because…

8. Are you communicating a TRANSCENDANT THEME?

People love stories that explore transcendent themes because…

We are hard-wired for meaning in stories We have “violin strings” in our souls. When

plucked, they resonate with transcendent themes C.S. Lewis called Christ “myth that became true” Transcendent themes are heavenly truths set in

human circumstances