How does one go about implementing such a storytelling formula?
Again, and again, and again. Practice sharing stories. Write stories. Sing stories. Mumble stories in your lonely drunken stupors.
Then publish them online.
The web is swarming with readers willing to ignore boring content. Why not give them something interesting? You might not hit one out of the park on the first try, or even the 5oth. But you will learn through the process and you will improve.
Here’s how you can get started:
- Step 1 – Think of a good story from your past. It doesn’t have to be an amazing, shocking, or groundbreaking story. It just has to be your story. Know it well and you’ll share it best.
- Step 2 – Think of how that story shaped you and what you can share with others as a result. This thinking can happen whenever you like. I get my best thinking done during the last 3 miles of a run.
- Step 3 – Go wash some dishes. Some of the best writing in the world was first conceived over a sink filled with dishes.
- Step 4 – Write down your story and ensuing thoughts.
- Step 5 – Let the piece sit for at least a week. You’ll need at least a week to pass before you start to forget what you wrote. Forgetting what you wrote is key to giving yourself the sort of distance you’ll need to objectively tweak your work for the better.
- Step 6 – Read your piece out loud to yourself and fix anything that doesn’t contribute to a general sense of flow. Don’t be lazy.
- Step 7 – Share the piece with at least 20 people. You can do this through a blog, Facebook note, whatever. Share the results of your work. If you don’t know many people, find me on Twitter, tell me you wrote a story, and I’ll help you find some readers. If you’ve followed the 6 previous steps, I’m sure I’ll like what you came up with enough to share it. Well, not if you wrote about how something relates to Twitter. We don’t need more stories that relate back to Twitter. =)
Get cracking!