Storytelling today seems to only come in two packages. Either they are only about the spectacle, the explosions and car chases, the huge surround sound and the 3D-glasses, the chocks and the provocations. All just attempts of grabbing the audience's attention and distracting them from the total lack of content. They are stories that may be box office hits but still, after a few months, are totally forgotten.
On the other side are the stories that are often called artistic, independent or labeled as being very original. These are stories that mainly are about the creator and about the creator being a super intellectual demigod who stands far above the meagre minions that are the audience. There often a hint of a message but in reality these stories tend to be just as shallow as the spectacle stories, just as greedy and even more egocentric.
Don't get me wrong, originality and a personal view and opinion is important and I don't think that it is good to blindly follow the norm, but I believe that originality is something that only can come without being forced. We have all come to where we are today through different paths, our lives and experiences are different and so where thoughts and decisions are different. If one would ask ten different people to retell a classic story, one would get ten different versions of it based on who that person is and what is important them.
If one tries to be original and personal one is always lying. Why? Because one is then only trying to give out an image of how one wants other to perceive oneself, not who one truly is. I believe a large part of who we are lies in our subconscious and can better be seen by others than ourself. It is only when we are not consciously try to tell others who we are that we are true and it is only then that one can make art and tell stories that is truly original and personal.
I believe the basis of storytelling and art is in the question WHY? This is about you, the storyteller. Why do I want to tell this story? This is not only the message/morale/theme it is also ones reason to wanting to tell it. The reason doesn't have to be deep, and generally isn't. Saying one wants to change the world isn't better than wanting to get attention. What is important is that one is conscious of it, because it will influence how one reaches out with the message.
The second part of telling a story is the question HOW? How will I reach my audience and convince them with my message (my why?)? This is about your audience. How do you reach them and how do you convince them of your message? It is about style, genre, spectacle and other ways to grab a hold of your audience and make them fully hear and understand what you have to say. The metaphor through which you communicate your message. This question, at least for me, is one of the hardest to answer. If it was easy to change someones opinion who disagrees with you the world would be quite different (and, to be honest, probably more boring). A healthy exercise is to think about what would be needed from a story for you to take part of it and listen to its message when the message is something that goes totally opposite if what you believe?
The third part of telling a story is the question WHAT? What actually happens that makes my audience listen (how?) to my message (why?) This is about plot, about how to structure the story to make the strongest impact on your audience. Enough books and articles have been written about this subject to cover the face of Earth (and probably also Saturn) so I won't get in to it in this post, but I will get back to the subject sometime later.
Everything I've learned I've learned from somebody else so it is hard to give credit for everything. But, I do want to mention Simon Sinek whose work I base the why, how, what method on. He did a talk at Ted Talks where he explained the basics of his theory, although he approaches it from a business viewpoint.
Mr. Sinek has also written a book that is called "Start With Why". Thank you for reading, Peter Hertzberg
On the other side are the stories that are often called artistic, independent or labeled as being very original. These are stories that mainly are about the creator and about the creator being a super intellectual demigod who stands far above the meagre minions that are the audience. There often a hint of a message but in reality these stories tend to be just as shallow as the spectacle stories, just as greedy and even more egocentric.
Don't get me wrong, originality and a personal view and opinion is important and I don't think that it is good to blindly follow the norm, but I believe that originality is something that only can come without being forced. We have all come to where we are today through different paths, our lives and experiences are different and so where thoughts and decisions are different. If one would ask ten different people to retell a classic story, one would get ten different versions of it based on who that person is and what is important them.
If one tries to be original and personal one is always lying. Why? Because one is then only trying to give out an image of how one wants other to perceive oneself, not who one truly is. I believe a large part of who we are lies in our subconscious and can better be seen by others than ourself. It is only when we are not consciously try to tell others who we are that we are true and it is only then that one can make art and tell stories that is truly original and personal.
I believe the basis of storytelling and art is in the question WHY? This is about you, the storyteller. Why do I want to tell this story? This is not only the message/morale/theme it is also ones reason to wanting to tell it. The reason doesn't have to be deep, and generally isn't. Saying one wants to change the world isn't better than wanting to get attention. What is important is that one is conscious of it, because it will influence how one reaches out with the message.
The second part of telling a story is the question HOW? How will I reach my audience and convince them with my message (my why?)? This is about your audience. How do you reach them and how do you convince them of your message? It is about style, genre, spectacle and other ways to grab a hold of your audience and make them fully hear and understand what you have to say. The metaphor through which you communicate your message. This question, at least for me, is one of the hardest to answer. If it was easy to change someones opinion who disagrees with you the world would be quite different (and, to be honest, probably more boring). A healthy exercise is to think about what would be needed from a story for you to take part of it and listen to its message when the message is something that goes totally opposite if what you believe?
The third part of telling a story is the question WHAT? What actually happens that makes my audience listen (how?) to my message (why?) This is about plot, about how to structure the story to make the strongest impact on your audience. Enough books and articles have been written about this subject to cover the face of Earth (and probably also Saturn) so I won't get in to it in this post, but I will get back to the subject sometime later.
Everything I've learned I've learned from somebody else so it is hard to give credit for everything. But, I do want to mention Simon Sinek whose work I base the why, how, what method on. He did a talk at Ted Talks where he explained the basics of his theory, although he approaches it from a business viewpoint.
Mr. Sinek has also written a book that is called "Start With Why". Thank you for reading, Peter Hertzberg
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