Remember the story of Hansel and Gretel? It's the fairy tale about two children who left breadcrumbs along the path to find their way home. Those breadcrumbs kept them going. Each breadcrumb was a little surprise along the way that inspired them to move forward.If you are expecting someone to listen to your story, or read your blog, you are actually taking them down a path with you. You need to breadcrumbs along the way to keep them interested.
Better yet… imagine those breadcrumbs are gold coins!
That’s how Al Tompkins from The Poynter Institute describes them.
Al taught me that stories need little surprises, or gold coins, to keep the listener interested.
Imagine that I tell you a story about a robbery in an Orlando neighborhood. Pretty standard right? Well… a few sentences in, I tell you it happened on Christmas Eve. Then, as I go on, I tell you that it was actually at the home of a priest! A few sentences later, you actually find out that robbers stole Baby Jesus from the navity! These are gold coins that make the story more and more interesting. These details keep you interested, and wanting to know more.
I believe this applies to short blogs, or complete books. If you’re going to tell a story, take the person listening on a journey with you. Build in small surprises that keep the listener on their toes. Give them gold coins along the trip to make it worth their while.
Al taught me that stories need little surprises, or gold coins, to keep the listener interested.
Imagine that I tell you a story about a robbery in an Orlando neighborhood. Pretty standard right? Well… a few sentences in, I tell you it happened on Christmas Eve. Then, as I go on, I tell you that it was actually at the home of a priest! A few sentences later, you actually find out that robbers stole Baby Jesus from the navity! These are gold coins that make the story more and more interesting. These details keep you interested, and wanting to know more.
I believe this applies to short blogs, or complete books. If you’re going to tell a story, take the person listening on a journey with you. Build in small surprises that keep the listener on their toes. Give them gold coins along the trip to make it worth their while.
Carrie. This is a great blog on how to tell a story. It reminded me of a video my niece and nephew created to take the viewer on a journey of lifes realities and tell the story of my brothers passing. It's called the Big Guy and can be seen on the internet at http://vimeo.com/6973551. It's very sad but holds many messages about what is most important in life. It seems to follow your blog about taking the person listening on a journey with you and making them want to see where it leads. I really enjoy reading your blog. Keep up the good work! Paul
ReplyDeleteThank you for the kind words! I also appreciate the link to the Big Guy video. What a story...
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