Key Elements in Storytelling
The key elements in storytelling that keep customers engaged are things most of you already know.
- Good characters are crucial and it doesn’t matter if anyone likes them. Are the characters fleshed out? Are they interesting?
- Conflict is really important. If there’s no conflict, the characters have no purpose other than to just be.
- Plot is another one and probably best decided up front. What’s the storyline? What are you trying to say?
- Setting and mood – where does the story take place? Sometimes the setting can seem like a character. It all depends.
Films tell great stories – at least the good ones do. Sometimes our imagination can’t take us where a movie can and it’s fun to just let it happen.
Books are another medium of storytelling that can be compelling enough to keep people engaged. Okay, maybe not all books (or movies, for that matter) but the good ones do. Sometimes there’s a whole series of books that keep you gnawing your teeth waiting for the next installment. Don’t you hate waiting? I remember The Green Mile, by Stephen King. When the books first came out in 1996, it was released a chapter at a time in six installments. It was maddening!! Now you can read the whole story in one book and there’s a movie to boot, but imagine being fed one chapter at a time, waiting for the next release so you could move a little further along in the story. It was called a serial novel. Crazy!
In the end, it’s all about telling a good story to keep people engaged. That’s up to the person producing the medium, whatever the product, to keep in mind. If people aren’t engaged, the product won’t be seen, read, etc. It just won’t. Keep that in mind as you begin the creation process!
