“What if a writer is trying to tell a story and nothing much happens, nothing is resolved…”
How to Tell A Boring Story
Use: “and then this happened”.
The essential ingredient of a boring (it is going nowhere) story is the “and then this happened”… “and then this happened”… “and then this happened” structure.
There is no conflict.
It is a laundry list of stuff happening… there is no sense of tension building and the listener getting curious and wondering about what is going to happen.
All good stories are a variation of: “Once there was a problem, but then it was resolved”
How to Make Story Engaging
Use lots of “but…” and “therefore…” Check out the video below – it claims to have stolen the idea from Orson Wells, but I think ideas are meant to be stolen and shared.
PS I came across this gem from Nick Morgan’s blog the secrets of good storytelling.
Resources: Check it out on vimeo: F for Fake (1973) – How to Structure a Video Essay from Tony Zhou
What are your thoughts?