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Improve your Stories: use more “therefore”s and “but”s

“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.

Check out the Top Trending post on the blog right now…
Leaders Must Develop 2 Skills in the People around Them

Resources:  Check it out on vimeo: F for Fake (1973) – How to Structure a Video Essay from Tony Zhou

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2 responses to “Improve your Stories: use more “therefore”s and “but”s”

  1. nyakuan Avatar
    nyakuan

    it my way in watching movies I like it ,some actors a have to change some time and the bring some else it not good .

    Reply
  2. Telling Stories that Engage and Inspire | Moving People to Action

    […] Must Watch: Robert McKee on the importance of tension and conflict (video… worth a view for the angry rant… […]

    Reply

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