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Save the Date - Monday, March 9 at 7pm
for the next REAL CHARACTERS humor series featuring an amazing lineup of readers and storytellers:
Simon Rich (author of Spoiled Brats, creator of Man Seeking Woman) Janet Manley (The New Yorker, columnist for McSweeneys) Andy Christie (The Moth, host of the Liar Show) Ross Hyzer (The New Yorker) and Steve Zimmer (The Moth Radio Hour)
Hosted by Andy Ross.
REAL CHARACTERS McNally Jackson Books 52 Prince Street, NYC Free!
Last time I told a story about what I learned, it involved the joy of Percocet. May need some for tonight's storytelling. If you have any, I'll be @housingworks in Soho. http://tiny.cc/60fr6w
This will be fun. If it's not, it's you, not me.
Story notes #2 -- Begin in the middle
(This is part of a series of the most common notes we give on Story Collider stories.)
Scientists, whether telling stories or lecturing can learn a tremendous amount from Andy Christie’s famous opening line, “I’m about 5000 feet above Albany on this perfect, beautiful, cloudless day when the girl who just pushed me out of the airplane starts screaming, ‘Wait, wait, your chute!’”
That is my all-time favorite beginning of a story. He gives the absolutely barest minimum to create the right image, and then puts us directly into the most interesting part of the story. Now clearly not every story should begin in the middle of a dramatic action like that — that would get repetitive quite fast — but the principle is quite good. This rule* goes by a lot of names. At The Moth they like to say, “start in the action.” We tend to say, “don’t over-introduce” or “jump right into the story.”
There are actually two components to it. The first is to not spend too much time in the lead-up. Don’t tell us your whole life story, just the part we need to understand what follows. Our format is one that depends on the plot moving forward, and it can’t move forward until it’s started.
The second is what makes this the #2 most common note we give on Story Collider stories. There’s a piece of advice that used to be pervasive in advice about science communication:
“Tell them what you’re going to tell them, tell them what you’re telling them, then tell them what you told them.”
I literally learned this at my dad’s knee. When I was going in middle and high school in the 90s he was an associate professor cutting his teeth on public lectures. He would repeat that refrain every time I needed to present something in class. At the time it was state-of-the-art, and I probably did quite well — and I know he did. But he’s moved past it, as (thankfully) has most of the field.**
The problem is that it’s completely antithetical to all the principles of narrative and drama. Those evolved, in part, to hold an audience’s attention and keep them interested, and more importantly to deliver an experience in a satisfying way. One of those principles is that a plot needs surprise, it needs the unexpected. “Predictable” is one of the strongest insult you throw at a movie. A really easy way to be predicable is to tell people at the top what the whole plot is.
Now, this isn’t just a problem for scientists. David Crabb, one of my favorite storytellers and also an excellent teacher, recently tweeted “Don't tell me what you're about to tell me. Just tell me.”
But it is a very common problem. Resist the urge to let us know where you're going. Instead, let the story unfold. Jump into the action and let us experience it as you did. It’ll be stronger, and we’ll remember it.
*As always with writing advice, that’s “rule.” The point is that if you break it, know why.
**Super-fun fact: Googling that phrase brings up lots of results like, “How to Tell Someone You Won't Go to Prom with Them: 5 Steps.” Step 1, “Make sure that you don't want to go to prom with this person.”
Story notes #1 -- End at the end
Image by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center
Hop on the bus, Gus!
This week's video: A mid-life crisis pushes a mild mannered Simon and Garfunkel fan to go skydiving.
November 14 @ Union Hall - Purchase Tickets
HOW I LEARNED YOU CAN'T GO HOME AGAIN
Featuring: MIKE ALBO (The Junket) ANDY CHRISTIE (The Liar Show) SARA SCHAEFER (Late Night with Jimmy Fallon) JOHN SELLERS (The Old Man and The Swamp) TOM SHILLUE (The Moth)
Created, Produced + Hosted by: BLAISE ALLYSEN KEARSLEY
HOW I LEARNED COMES TO UNION HALL FOR ONE SUPER SPECIAL NIGHT!
For this Brooklyn edition, we bring you stories about where we grew up, how we grew up and what we think of when we think of "home." About to enter its third year, How I Learned is a popular live story series featuring writers, storytellers, comedians and other performers. It happens every fourth Wednesday of the month on the Lower East Side, which basically means you can have the best night of your life on those nights repeatedly... with the exception of the night of November 14th at Union Hall, which is going to be the best, most historical night of all of our lives. Looking back on it afterwards, we will undoubtedly say, "it was magical."
