130 likes | 239 Views
Storytelling. COM597 – 6 Apr 2004 Kathy E. Gill. What makes a good story?. Small group work Discuss selected articles Develop three common elements that are necessary for readers to find an article valuable/useful. What makes a good story?. Small group work
E N D
Storytelling COM597 – 6 Apr 2004 Kathy E. Gill
What makes a good story? • Small group work • Discuss selected articles • Develop three common elements that are necessary for readers to find an article valuable/useful
What makes a good story? • Small group work • Question: should the media be showing us violent images from Iraq? Why/why not? What is it about the images that changes the story? • Citations: • Poynter (2003) • Slate • New York Times • LA Times • GOP Forum
Story – defined • A theme driven system of representing characters and events, and their causal relationships to one another, such that the story represents how certain states of affairs occurred and evidence of why. • http://www.glasswings.com.au/Storytronics/Tronics/elements/elementsframe.htm
Story – defined • A story is a strategic sequence of events or moments of change but perhaps more importantly it is the embodiment of an idea or an idea wrapped in an aesthetic emotion • http://homepage.ntlworld.com/dclough/screen6.htm
Have social significance • Confirm world-view • Satisfaction: we solve a problem, learn something • Emotional buzz • Reminder (jog memory) • Take us out of everyday reality, allow role experimentation
Story (narrative) elements • Premise (focus) • Plot (what’s happening) • Characters (who it’s about) • Back story (what happened before) • Conflict (otherwise boring) • Setting (where) • Theme (universal condition)
Purpose • Communication is the basis of human relations, and good human relations are the aim and purpose of all human communication activity • Every document you produce for the Web has multiple purposes, because there are multiple audiences
Professional writing goals • Earn or maintain good will • Persuade • Inform • Amuse, entertain
Narrative to Web • Understand the storyteller’s art ... Foreshadowing hints at future events and expected interests: your vacation, the election campaign, the endless midnight hours at work in the days before the new product ships. Surprise, an unexpected flash of humor or a sudden change of direction, refreshes and delights. Use links within your work to build depth, for today’s update will someday be your own back story. • http://www.alistapart.com/articles/writeliving/
Clear writing • As a writter, these sentences look odd to me.This essay will be of interest to many writer's and literary type's. I use to think things like this were a waist of time if you just want to write fiction. Now I know that writers half to know there basics. • From http://www.sfwa.org/writing/basics.htm
Clear writing • As a writer, I find that these sentences look odd. This article will be of interest to many writers and literary types. I used to think things like this were a waste of time if you just want to write fiction. Now I know that writers have to know their basics. • From http://www.sfwa.org/writing/basics.htm
More on genres • Procedure: How do I do x? • Definition: What does x mean? • Annual report: How is the company doing? • Essay: What is your original idea? • Op-Ed: Why should you support (or oppose) x? • News: What happened to x today? • Ad/Commecial: Buy x now!