5 Questions to ask when writing your Story…

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Essential Questions for Storytellers

Over the years I’ve had the pleasure to hear the opinions of many writers and storytellers.
Natalie Nourigat gave a wonderful talk at Trojan Horse was a Unicorn 2021 and gave us a simple set of questions to ask ourselves when writing your story:

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1. Who are you?

Think of your personal experiences in life. You can see this question as “What makes you who you are?” or what “What defines how I think?”.

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2. What is your thesis on the human condition?

Write either a sentence or a paragraph that a 10 year old can understand. Your story should exist because it says something from a perspective that hasn’t been said before.

Most great stories are contemporary in their thesis.

It’s good to ask as many people as you trust about your thesis. Does it connect? Is it relevant? Is it portraying what you want it to?

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3. Why are you the one to tell this story?

Similar to question 1, we have to do more self-reflection.

What are your life-experiences that relate to the story you are telling? How many levels of personal experiences can you weigh against your story?

The more nuanced your experiences, the better the story will end up.

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4. How complex is this project?

From a more technical stand-point, it’s important to know the scope of your project early in advance.

Of course, your project could grow out to become much bigger than you initially planned. Or you might realise it can be achieved in a more simplified way.

Either way, it’s important to know what you want the project to be. Then figure out the best way to achieve it from a storytelling perspective.

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5. Why tell the story in this medium?

Whether you are making a live-action film, an animation, a video-game, graphic novel or a book:

Why is this the right medium for the story?

The beauty of Transmedia storytelling is that you can make use of every medium for their unique benefits.

But it is very important to understand the strengths of your story and apply it to the medium you believe will best shed light on those qualities.

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More on Storytelling and Worldbuilding

Blogs

First time Worldbuilding? Welcome to Marco-Storytelling!

The iceberg theory of storytelling. See How Easily You Can Make Your World Building Feel Detailed

Resources

This printable workshop will help to set stories up for successful world building.
Building Worlds — Intro

This in-depth document covers all essential elements of worldbuilding and storytelling.
Building Worlds — Document.

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