Your Story Climax

Let’s look at how to create a great climax for your story. You’ve been working on your story for a while now and have figured out who the hero is and what their goal is. Your hero’s been through the beginning, a turning point, and the middle of the story. Now that you’ve gotten this far, […]

Navigating the Middle of your Story

The middle of a story seems like it could be intuitive. It’s the “and then, and then, and then” part of the story where you tell your audience about the series of events that leads you hero from the beginning, through the turning point, and on to the climax of the story. Now, if you spend […]

The turning point: linking the beginning and middle of your story

Kick your story into gear In every story there comes a moment when the audience has gotten to know your hero and the world they live in. They understand the norms that hero lives with and have an idea of how the hero fits into that world. They know this because you crafted a strong […]

Start your Story Right

My friends, this post is part of a series about story structure. You can catch the overview of story structure and separate posts about the hero and goal in your story by clicking those links. They’ll help you out if you haven’t read them already. We’re going to talk about the beginning of your story. […]

Give Your Story a Great Goal

A benefit of working on a story starting at structure is that you know what you have to do next. After you’ve sketched a basic story structure and figured out who your hero is and how to describe them, it’s time to figure out what the hero’s goal will be. The approach to goal setting […]

Pick and describe your hero to kick-start your story

Last week, I introduced a story structure that you can use to tell all kinds of stories. Over the next few weeks, I’m going to take a closer look at the different parts of that diagram. Together, this series of articles will give you a strong foundation for any story, so I hope you’ll stick […]

The Story Diagram at the Core of the StoryCraft Method

Today, I want to give you a tool for improving your stories. It’s a diagram to show you what your story should look like. I draw it on chalkboards and flip charts and white boards and paper everywhere! This diagram is the core of my approach to storytelling. I use it to plan my stories […]

What the 10-year challenge teaches us about storytelling

The beginning of 2019 gave us the 10-year-challenge on social media. It’s a simple task to participate, you post a picture of yourself now and ten years ago online, add a catchy caption (or not) and you’re in. It’s been discussed as a way to show off your great fortune,potential data mining event, and a […]

What a long trip can teach you about complex information in storytelling

You’re an expert in your field and have to give a presentation to a non-expert audience. You’ve heard about storytelling, but you aren’t sure how a story can accommodate the complex information that you want to share. What do you do? This is the kind of doubt I encounter regularly in my workshops. The fact […]

Show, don’t tell to bring your hero to life!

updated 28 June 2023 The image of a woman walking into the distance, carrying a bucket away from her body, like someone used to carrying heavy loads has lived in my mind for decades. The source of the image escapes me, but the author used the show don’t tell rule so well that I’ve never […]