Elements of Storytelling
- Suspense: Let stories unfold. First a foundation, and then the details, followed by a resolution.
- Story elements don't have to be in chronological order, but they do need to be in order of importance. Non-linear storytelling may give you the end first, but it does so out of context, creating a mystery of suspense. "What does this mean?", "How are these things related?", "How did they get into this situation?".
- Start with a bang.
- Stories have arcs
- Beginning, middle, end
- Ira Glass on Storytelling. This guy knows what he's talking about.
- Mindy Mc Adams on the Elements of Storytelling.
- http://tvtropes.org has a slew of interesting characters and plot devices used in movies, books and television.
Why?
Storytelling is an important way we process and understand the world around us.
Our lives are a narrative with a beginning, middle and end and they contain many mini-narratives within them.
I'm a philosophical kind of guy, so I often understand things in terms of concepts rather than linear narrative. Concepts are important. Even better is when you can express concepts in terms of narrative. Doing so helps cut through preconceptions and biases.