Adapted from http://www.jasonohler.com/storytelling/storymaking.cfm

FOCUS ON STORY TELLING

The Digital Age is the Storytelling Age... we all get to tell our stories in our own way on the great stage of the Internet...

Bottom Line: Telling weak stories with technology is like giving a bad guitar player a bigger amplifier.

Agree or Disagree?

Similarly, if you have no understanding of how media persuasion works you do not have the skills necessary to

understand the digital world you inhabit. Therefore, the most important thing teachers can do for students is teach them

how to tell an effective story.

FOCUSING ON STORYTELLING

LOUD BAD GUITAR

No matter what kind of approach to storytelling I am using, I always being by focusing on the story, not

the technology.The story core: from problem, thru change, to

resolution. To do this I usually tell stories and show stories

created by other students (on DVD), then "find the story core" in each of the stories. You see the story

core depicted below, as a problem and solution precariously perched on top of a tipping point,

signifying that stories have tension that give them forward motion as they move from problem through transformation to solution. This is explained below,

as well as covered in some detail in my book, Digital Storytelling in the Classroom.

The story core represents only one approach to story and new media. But suffice it to say for now that the world of Western storytelling relies heavily on stories

with "story cores," making it recognizable to students. I start with the core, and see where each

project leads me.

THE STORY UNDERSTANDING PROCESS - BEGIN WITH THE STORY

CORE

THE STORY CORE - Basic Configuration

The central challenge that creates the story’s tension and forward momentum. This can be a question, a problem, an obstacle, an opportunity or a goal that needs to be addressed by the main character in the story.The challenge creates tension that gives the story its forward momentum, which in turn produces listener involvement. FYI: the main character can be anything from a rock, to a group of animals, to a student, to, in some cases, the audience itself. 

STORY CORE'S 1ST ELEMENT

Character transformation that facilitates the response to the challenge. Transformation is difficult and is often resisted, a portrayed in the picture below. Transformation is the essential change that a character needs to undergo to address the challenge, obstacle or opportunity. Sometimes the transformation occurs at the end, and, rarely, at the beginning. But it is usually most powerful when it occurs in the middle and facilitates the response to the challenge. Typically, change is a struggle. Either “life” or the “old you” pushes back as new circumstances or a “new you” struggles to emerge. If change comes too easily in a story, the audience disengages.  

STORY CORE'S 2ND ELEMENT

The response to the challenge that resolves the tension and leads to story closure. The character addresses the challenge made possible by the transformation. This can mean solving a mystery, slaying a dragon, reaching a goal, applying new academic knowledge or learning processes, overcoming an obstacle… anything that addresses the challenge, resolves the tension and leads to closure. Closure by no means implies a happy ending, just a resolution of events. 

STORY CORE'S 3RD ELEMENT

To me, the story core is about emergence, as portrayed in this image. Here you see an "old me" and "new me" battling with each other. The old me struggles not to change, to maintain the status quo and thus deny the call to adventure and to transformation. The new me knows that his survival ultimately depends on his transformation.

Storymapping is basically a process of fleshing out the story core with story details. To demonstrate this I usually tell and map stories with students as a group exercise. Students then begin their storytelling projects by creating a story map that sketches out their stories. This is explained below. There are many approaches to story mapping (see my book, Digital Storytelling in the Classroom). However, my favorite is Brett Dillingham's Visual Portrait of the Story (VPS), presented here. I recommend you look at Brett's site for great storytelling materials. The basic VPS as I have adapted it appears below:

STORY MAPPING

The map shows the five essential story elements. Note that the story core is at the heart of the map:1. Beginning. This is Campbell's "call to adventure." Somehow,

normal life is suspended and an adventure begins.2. Problem. Life pushes against the main character in the story by

presenting him or her with a problem to solve, an obstacle to overcome, or a mission to accomplish. The problem creates the tension that must be resolved. It sets the mood, and makes story listeners want to know what is going to happen next.

3. Changes. The main character transforms in some significant way, such as learning something important, becoming more skilled, mature or courageous, or developing personal insight and understanding. In great stories the character's transformation is so great that we, the listening audience, feel transformed as well. However, this is the simple explanation. I devote an entire chapter in my book to transformation because it can be a complex topic. For example, with documentaries sometimes the primary transformation is in audience members, as we learn about a situation that has an effect on us. With academic new media stories, transformation occurs by students showing what they have learned. See the chapter for much more on this topic.

4. Solution. Often due to the transformation, the character can now solve the problem, overcome the obstacle or accomplish the mission. Sometimes the change and solution don't come until the end of the story.

5. End. The end brings the story to "closure." Note that closure does not necessarily mean "a happy ending." It simply means that the problem in the story has been resolved.

ANOTHER WAY OF SEEINGTHE ARC

The story arc. Another story map that students respond to is "the story arc." This comes right out of Hollywood.

As legend has it, should you manage to trap an executive producer in an elevator long enough to pitch her your story,

she will want to know "your story arc." That is, she will want to know the basic flow of action and the kind of

transformation on the part of the hero that the audience will witness. This sounds a bit simplistic, so think in terms of the story map above: who changes in your story, how do they change, and how does the audience relate to it? If I

give students a choice between the VPS and the story arc, they will choose them 50/50.

Note that the story arc contains all the components of the story core; you are just using a different kind of map shape

to express them:

THE STORY ARC MAP

Click icon to add picture

The story mapping process: The story mapping process is fairly straightforward. Students draw this basic VPS story map (without the wording) on a piece of a regular paper, usually turned sideways to better accommodate the VPS. Then they annotate the VPS with words, phrases or sentences that

describe the basic elements of their story.

THE MAP ARCED

Here are a few important points about using story maps:Maps are not formulas. In the words of Robert McKee (author of Story, the well known bible for movie story development) when it comes to creating good stories, "...there are no formulas but there are guidelines." A story map is just a guideline. Characters that grow and change engage listeners. The heart of so many good stories is the transformation that the main character undergoes. A story that features a character who learns something or grows in some way to solve a problem or overcomes an obstacle is a time honored way to create a memorable story that engages story listeners.