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This piece explores what constitutes a good story, focusing on key elements such as premise, plot, characters, and conflict, which are essential for engaging readers. It incorporates small group discussions based on selected articles to identify three common elements that make stories valuable. Additionally, it raises critical questions about the media's portrayal of violent imagery from conflict zones, emphasizing the impact of visual representation on narrative perception. The insights gathered aim to enhance both storytelling skills and media literacy.
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Storytelling COM597 – 6 Apr 2004 Kathy E. Gill
What makes a good story? • Small group work • Discuss selected articles • Develop three common elements that are necessary for readers to find an article valuable/useful
What makes a good story? • Small group work • Question: should the media be showing us violent images from Iraq? Why/why not? What is it about the images that changes the story? • Citations: • Poynter (2003) • Slate • New York Times • LA Times • GOP Forum
Story – defined • A theme driven system of representing characters and events, and their causal relationships to one another, such that the story represents how certain states of affairs occurred and evidence of why. • http://www.glasswings.com.au/Storytronics/Tronics/elements/elementsframe.htm
Story – defined • A story is a strategic sequence of events or moments of change but perhaps more importantly it is the embodiment of an idea or an idea wrapped in an aesthetic emotion • http://homepage.ntlworld.com/dclough/screen6.htm
Have social significance • Confirm world-view • Satisfaction: we solve a problem, learn something • Emotional buzz • Reminder (jog memory) • Take us out of everyday reality, allow role experimentation
Story (narrative) elements • Premise (focus) • Plot (what’s happening) • Characters (who it’s about) • Back story (what happened before) • Conflict (otherwise boring) • Setting (where) • Theme (universal condition)
Purpose • Communication is the basis of human relations, and good human relations are the aim and purpose of all human communication activity • Every document you produce for the Web has multiple purposes, because there are multiple audiences
Professional writing goals • Earn or maintain good will • Persuade • Inform • Amuse, entertain
Narrative to Web • Understand the storyteller’s art ... Foreshadowing hints at future events and expected interests: your vacation, the election campaign, the endless midnight hours at work in the days before the new product ships. Surprise, an unexpected flash of humor or a sudden change of direction, refreshes and delights. Use links within your work to build depth, for today’s update will someday be your own back story. • http://www.alistapart.com/articles/writeliving/
Clear writing • As a writter, these sentences look odd to me.This essay will be of interest to many writer's and literary type's. I use to think things like this were a waist of time if you just want to write fiction. Now I know that writers half to know there basics. • From http://www.sfwa.org/writing/basics.htm
Clear writing • As a writer, I find that these sentences look odd. This article will be of interest to many writers and literary types. I used to think things like this were a waste of time if you just want to write fiction. Now I know that writers have to know their basics. • From http://www.sfwa.org/writing/basics.htm
More on genres • Procedure: How do I do x? • Definition: What does x mean? • Annual report: How is the company doing? • Essay: What is your original idea? • Op-Ed: Why should you support (or oppose) x? • News: What happened to x today? • Ad/Commecial: Buy x now!