Etiqueta: Storytelling

  • Storytelling to have them wrapped around your finger p2



    photo of woman reading a story to her child
    Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

    Hi, today to nonsense again about crime… the crime of writing a superb hero’s journey to get the audience wrapped around your finger by finding the clues and witness who might prove your product/service is the best out there. It applies to plot too.


    THE EVIDENCE

    Maybe you don’t know, since you probably studied something else and Literature doesn’t include marketing. It might include communication but not marketing. Anyone who has studied a little of marketing knows.



    WE NEVER BUY STUFF AS A RESULT OF KNOWING THE RATIONAL FACTS RELATED TO THE PRODUCT. We buy because of our feelings… Eh. Fears.



    But we can make the facts to look like emotional reasons why to buy by transforming them into a key to have an epiphany.

    The webinarist explains that the trials and tribulations and meetings (the first encounters with the minions or the companions) that have solved the problem, act like a «proof» in the sense of «witnessing». Thus, the audience witness the way the product solves the problem. This sounds a lot like showing, not telling. Because we won’t tell the audience what the problem is. Like a Maruchan advertisement in which a person talks and talks and talks and in order to get them quiet, the antagonist gives them some Maruchan. Voilà, the problem of getting peace is solved. But nobody says so. It is there, but nobody will tell what the problem is.

    OF THE PROOFS.

    Proof is a rather complicated case in traditional storytelling. There can’t be minus than three trials; yet the webinarist reduces them to two. Since the evidence sum into the already orchestrated chain of unresolved trouble that has been tackled by the product, I guess that makes it three but I understand he reduces them because of screen time prices.

    In the case of Link, the trials can’t be reduced to two nor three. The whole videogame is a series of challenges to be conquered, the way RPG are designed to be solved and fought. Nonetheless, we can talk of two really important tasks: Epona and the dark Link.

    Without Epona, the second companion, we won’t be able to move around Hyrule. This trial is so the hero can tame not just the wild horse but Time as well.

    The dark Link means to conquer fear. We all have to tame our dark side if we’re to live. Life is not just a series of pleasant happenings. It has disgrace and misery too. Such are the dark times and feelings we need to defeat before we go onto the big journey of the day. Remember, for the journey to be meaningful (the one of the hero), the problems have to escalate as much as possible in strength and size. The worst things go, the better the ending.

    If an exam is what’s making our common heroine to shiver; we have her expulsed from the library together with the handsome ________ (boy, girl, alien; suit yourself) in a tight T-shirt. Eyes stray and the study book becomes boring. But here comes the super fun app to the rescue… I’m explaining how to use storytelling to sell. Something I’m unable to just because I’m lazy. A lot lazy.

    Escalating a plot is similar to getting COVID-19 after the H1N1 (which is almost as bad). Yes, I know. COVID made things look as blue as the lack of oxygen but it is the most real thing of anything really bad happening for most of us. I bet that you’re reading this from some country without war, famine or sickness… We have just lived the last. Do you get it? It has to be really really bad for it to cause feelings. Nonetheless, the problem can’t be the same or have the same solution. If it is I can guarantee the novel flying away or lost in the subway/bus and people fast forwarding the advertisement. Why do you think people send Co…la advertisements to each other in IG? Because they’re well done and have a nice plot.

    Next entry will deal with encounters. We can’t have a real hero journey or quest without meeting allies or minions!

  • Storytelling to have them wrapped around your finger p1


    photo of woman reading a story to her child
    Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com


    Since the last translation, I changed a little the title to keep interest… Yeah, if there can be one or two interested readers. 

    Otherwise, the entry would simply have the same name with some «p» for «part» attached. I’m still nonsensing on how the non writers are learning how to write to make people fall in love with their product’s and services. Thus, here I am, nonsensing about storytelling.

    THE BEGINNING OF THE JOURNEY

    The journey does start. We need to explore the possibilities from the spark.

    We need to get to the moment when the production or service saved us from an everyday need but we still have to start somewhere.

    Similarly, Link begins his journey in the Kokiri forest, where I think I remember he is taught how to play the ocarine by Zelda. Anyways, he starts in the forest, the pure place of spirits.

    Our normal character (as in the everyday person to be saved by said product/service) starts an exceptional day (thus of normal everyday person the character has nothing). And likewise he/she has to fight the odds: reading books and listening to webinars, learning code, spent the whole night studying to Red Bull and aspirin.

    These difficulties will make it more believable and relatable. And they have to be there. The thing of selling is to make the audience believe we are solving their problems. We offer the best books and webinars with a certificate that will guarantee a job. A fast and easy way to learn code… An energetic drink to study the whole night without falling asleep. Sleep is needed and magical ways don’t exist. There are tools but I prefer the tool of my own mind.

    Next entry will deal with evidence and following the suspect… Ah! , this is about the hero’s journey and not a black novel. Next time… evidence and witnessing, the storytelling has to prove the service/product solves the problem. And the sentence still sounds like I’ll write about crime.

  • Storytelling, how to make a reader to fall in love p2



    CONTINUATION ABOUT A HERO’S JOURNEY AND MORE NONSENSE

    We can use both ideas, the chosen hero and the everyday hero. The thing is that, if we choose the chosen one strategy, it is forbidden to enounce «it has to be you». We need to force our heroine to do it but never say it. If you do, if you use the pointing finger; a more experienced reader will abandon your piece. Think Frodo. No one said he had to do it. He just realized no one else could. It was too much temptation to the men. Too onerous for the elves. And too dangerous for them all if Gandalf did.

    On the other side, the side of the «everyday person» hero; they are not heroic in the same way. They are heroic by solving an everyday small calamity. They face things like webservers disappearing, video rendering melting away to a broken memory card, a problem in Excel, decide where to eat, how to quench thirst in hell (temperatures over the 35°C[1] and we know as plot. For the plot is bullying our character. Yes, we bully our character. And readers do enjoy it no matter how much they protest.

    AN EXCEPTIONAL DAY

    See? No matter how common the problem, we won’t use a typical day as reference.

    In the video, the normal average Joe discovers the product/service/ company as salvation… I mean as the magical object. Link is given an Ocarine to travel time; we’re given a good smelling fabric softener to fend off the dull day.

    Merriam discovers she loves writing and she meets WordPress (this is not advertising, if anyone proves other platform even better I’ll move ASAP) and the epiphany echoes the skies. Truth is, it was the first time I saved money to buy something I had reflected on. And of waiting to see if the idea was still there by the time I had collected the money. I also had that time you think what the heck was I good at. I could only think I love reading and hoarding plots… And this I wasn’t supposed to tell you.



    To summarize. That day in the life of our common hero, he has to be inspired by lighting; the lettuce may be or something that breaks that mediocrity of everyday. Magic happens then and there. In a discreet way.



    And since magic runs out, it is time to shut up my thumbs on the phone’s screen. It’s time to go see what’s in the inexistent fridge to gulp down or take a nap.

    Would you like to re charge my magical counter by giving some love to this blog? Like this or suscribe. In case you desire to damage my hp counter, you only have to comment in hate.

    Note: I think Campbell’s book is worth reading. I’m only going to note that sometimes, I do need the «easy» version to compare*  When I was as doing the Yonseo English course online in Coursera, I was supposed to watch first the video to read the class document and answer five questions… All planned to be done in half an hour! I had to transcribe the document to my notebook (not that notebook, an analogue paper notebook by handwriting), answered the quiz and watched the video at the end so I could start to understand what was going on. Otherwise I wouldn’t start to fathom what was the class about…* to get things because I’m not as smart as I’d like to think. This is the «easy» version. The webinarist summarizes it  all in a bulleted version that’s a lot shorter… Yet, as Ikram Antaki said: nothing worth is ever easy. Not love nor culture. Nor writing.

    Pasto kalo.

    [1][1] It doesn’t matter how much English I could speak, my mind is tailored to units measured to the tenths. 95°F). Something the webinarist calls «believable» in the art of building walls or obstacles for our average Jane *As if the heroic exploits or fantasy heroes are not believable…

  • Storytelling, how to make a reader fall in love p1




    Fish king drawing, fairy tale

    Such is the title of a webinar in Coursera on how to create a brand product… Is that related to the sacred Holy Literature? Ask Roger Domingo.

    Steer away from my poor taste joke[1]. The true thing is that other people, the ones who don’t write for a living; are learning or have learnt how to tell stories. Are they learning something different to what’s taught in creative writing? Is it worth knowing and comparing to the things I’ve read?

    DOES EVERYONE WRITE FOLLOWING THE SAME PROCESS?

    One of the basic ideas if this blog is: not everybody writes with the same process. Thus, we must search and try different ones till we find the one that becomes us. No matter how unorthodox it sounds.

    This blog will nonsense about magic and science to find out if the moon has to be be crescent or waxing or whatever; to be concocted in the goblet of the writing potions… Maybe in more than one go to keep it short and readable.

    THE WEBINAR AND THE BIBLE

    Before anything else; would you prefer to do the webinar instead of reading me? I mean; I’m good at explaining but…I can’t be the best of the best for the simple reason that we all are different. You might think you and I don’t belong in the same scenario because you don’t agree with me and that’s enough for you to look up for another writing guy. Freedom of choice does exist and I wouldn’t be the person I want to be, if I didn’t shown you the option. This is a free blog and you can make questions or go see other things…

    Starting from the beginning. The webinarist person starts by claiming the bible as one of the strongest plots. I ignore if he means it as the History of how it was written (for Hebrews, a historical record was not very different from their religious point of view) or if he means the group of tales that could clearly be tracked to Sumer copies to accommodate to the first remakes or inspired by narration. All in order to acquire national identity in an area surrounded by bigger empires. (Some ate pig, some worshipped the cat and the others placed animal heads into their gods..). There had to be a way to be different and remain thick and united.

    Since the Bible ain’t the first bookbound (tabletbound?) or recorded plot, but the Epic of Gilgamesh that contains all the three little parts of plot: introduction, development and climax; one can hardly give him credit.

    Yet, considering that the first first recorded plot, can change any minute thanks to Archaeology; I won’t grow my discontent fangs. Plus, the webinarist is an expert online salesman (unlike me) and I’m no expert either. I just read and write a report so that I can understand what the honeycomb is that I’m reading. Which is a little lot less than brilliant but kinda fun. Because I’m fun.

    THE HERO’S JOURNEY

    The author, after some defining why and how to create content is a long and medium term sales strategy where you attract visitors and contacts; he goes to define storytelling as «the hero’s journey» or what Ronald B. Tobias calls a «Quest» plot… And Joseph Campbell studied as the Hero of the thousand faces.



    … In his book (the webinarits’s book) , the hero’s journey starts with a common person. An avatar character that can become you, me, anyone to make up a believable plot. Without the psychological dough of the social rite and in bulleted format.

    A total opposite of the usual «hero’s journey». In the quest of the hero, the hero or heroine, is a chosen person. Not just you or me but someone special.


    Link. In The Ocarine of Time, Link discovers he isn’t a kokiri like the others. He is the Time hero. Thus, he can get out of the forest. He can do things, he is a «doer», someone who can’t stay still against the adversity. Most of us would protest but do nothing. We usually admit our defeat against conglomerates, society and… Taxes.

    Unlike Merriam and her magical blog; in it, the heroine is a four eyed with no other redeeming quality than stealing time to her own addictions. Or force herself to read what she doesn’t understand at all.

    Indeed, this entry isn’t about me… The blog is mine. What to tell? Or better, what not to tell? So I should make a stop and add a

    TO BE CONTINUED

    Pasto kalo dear reader.          

    [1] Indeed making jokes is making fun of someone or something… Thus, it is uncomfortable no matter what. No wonder the last parody I watched was so lukewarm.

  • Storytelling, el arte de contar historias y enamorar las mentes, los amorosos p2

    1. Empieza un viaje: la exploración de las posibilidades a partir de que se encendió el foquito.

    El como el producto o servicio o empresa nos sacará de las necesidades habituales. Link comienza un viaje que inicia en el mismo bosque Kokiri, lo lleva al palacio dónde Zelda le enseña una canción y viajará al futuro. El día excepcional nos lleva a empezar la búsqueda. A leer libros y ver webinars y aprender código o estudiar tooooda la noche para poder pasar ese examen sacado del infierno y no reprobar materiales aplicados o…lo que hayas dispuesto como pared para tu personaje. Y esto vale para cada uno de nosotros en nuestro pequeño mundo particular donde el producto en venta es lo que hacemos. No sólo pongas los proyectos que has realizado. Pon las dificultades que tuviste y cómo las resolviste.

    • Las pruebas: el webinarista reduce las pruebas y los dos encuentros a…encontrarse a dos personas que gracias al producto/servicio/empresa han solucionado sus graves problemas y esto constituye una “prueba” en el sentido de “testificar o atestiguar”. Sin embargo, las pruebas no se limitan a esto.

    Las pruebas son dos problemas bien grandes, que se suman a la larga cadena de problemas anteriores que son resueltas con éxito. En el caso de Link no puedo limitarlas a dos puesto que se trata de un videojuego de rol y todo el show se refiere precisamente a pasar una serie de pruebas de diversos tamaños. Sin embargo, hay dos en particular que resultan muy importantes: el encuentro con el link oscuro (todos nos encontramos con nuestro yo oscuro en frente del espejo o en frente de situaciones límite) y la doma de Epona porque Epona, nos llevará a un sinfín de lugares a donde no podríamos ir de otro modo. Y esto no es sólo una prueba utilitaria. Es la prueba necesaria para que el héroe llegue a su destino. El héroe está domando el tiempo. De esta manera, nos encontramos con el número mágico que constantemente se repite: las dos pruebas menores, la prueba grande. En el caso de estudiar para el examen puede ser que el personaje es expulsado de la biblioteca por comer y por lo tanto pierde su acceso a los libros necesarios y/o el chico más guapo de la escuela está en el mismo barco y su camiseta pegada hace que se nos vayan los ojos del libro…

    Recuerda, los problemas tienen que escalar en fuerza y magnitud. Después del H1N1 tiene que llegar Sars-19 (y disculpa por usar al dichoso virus que nos ha puesto las cosas negras pero de otro modo es difícil dimensionar las cosas). Si el problema es el mismo y la solución es la misma, no nos emocionamos. Ya no queremos más. Ahí se perdió la novela en el metro o en el autobús. O el dorama se fue al cara…al carnaval de basura.

    • Los dos encuentros: Dos personajes de trascendencia fundamental en el viaje de exploración. El héroe se encuentra con otro héroe que lo guiará en su búsqueda, un antecesesor que le mostrará cómo usar el producto/servicio/empresa.

    Link…Link[1] recibe un hada: Navi. Una suerte de GPS volador que nos indicará dónde buscar. El segundo encuentro es con la princesa Zelda, quién no sólo nos mostrará como abrir las puertas del tiempo sino…es el valor de la búsqueda. El último rescate. Así es como nuestro héroe a punto de pifar el examen, se encuentra con el alumno de un curso más aventajado que le explicará los misterios del algebra y el estudiante no tan majo pero más listo y con gafas que le enseñara a estudiar. Y acuérdense que este blog es de chorradas así que cualquier cosa que diga proviene de mi imaginación.

    • Elementos mágicos: la bola de nieve que hace que todo vaya mágicamente de menos a más. Todos los acontecimientos que producen el GRAN cambio. La nota que mejora en la tarea, que el estudiante menos majo de gafas nos sonríe y el héroe se siente más animado por eso que por los jeans a medio trasero del otro personaje guapo…el escudo, la espada maestra, la ocarina…la luz del sol que salió después de la tormenta. Que el blog casi desaparece pero no…el mundo no está lleno de magia. Pero nos gusta pintarlo con magia porque de otro modo, sería gris e imposible. Lo más difícil de esta vida es reconocer cuando hemos desperdiciado el tiempo como dice Yuval Noah Harari. Para eso existe esta trama. Para que creamos que “no fue en vano”. Siempre es por ese algo mejor que ya viene y que seguramente el universo hará posible.
    • La prueba final: the big boss! La tercera de las pruebas. Para el webinarista la vida cambió, tralaralara. Conozco el producto/servicio/empresa y se ha resuelto mi existencia (que rima tan chafa…es mía no culpen al webinarista). Zas, el webinarista dice que no tienes que inventar un cuento de hadas. Que lo hagas lo más aterrizado posible. ¿Qué pasó en tu vida que se transformó?

    …es y no es. Tú sabes que uno de los requisitos para una buena historia es…contar verdades a medias. Lauren Ho nos ha advertido de nunca usar nombres reales, ni descripciones reales so pena de terminar con un abogado encima y una demanda. Sí vas a contar tú historia, altérala. Cambia los nombres para proteger a los inocentes, tú el primero. Altérala para proteger a los no inocentes…de ganar dinero a tus expensas.

    Y no es que este sea un requisito indispensable pues para aquello de lo que habla el webinarista (vender el producto/servicio/empresa), esta historia es como un testimonio que utiliza esta estructura para enfatizar lo maravilloso del producto.

     Lo que no está notando el webinarista, es algo que menciona Ophelia Pastrana en el vídeo de los influencers virtuales y que es bien simpático y bien cierto. No nos gusta lo verdadero. Nos sacan una foto y nunca salimos con cara de grrr chin..a tu abuela. En automático sacamos toda la mazorca (la sonrisa) y sacamos pecho (para que se vea que tenemos). No contentos con ello, todos sabemos que existe el yo público y el yo falso. Nunca hacemos publicaciones en FB con la última pelea familiar. Nunca les confesamos a nuestros amigos que probablemente (o realmente) padecemos glaucoma….diabetes, arteriosclerosis, dislípidemia*. Lo que sea.

    Mentimos en automático. Algunos sonreímos con la esperanza de que…algún día la sonrisa se vuelva tan auténtica que realmente estemos contentos más del 50% del día. Así que  el teatrito de decir las cosas “aterrizadas” es, pintarlas terrenales pero con media verdad. Si no lo tenemos claro, no podemos escribir historias.   

    Se vale poner las mieles en esta última prueba de que la vida cambió. Ahora trabajas en casa (…esto valía para antes del Covid, ahora yo creo que vale más el que sales de casa para trabajar), ganas dinero haciendo lo que te gusta…aquí ya no hay horas de sueño perdidas, horas de preparación previa para diez segundos de animación o cuatro páginas de blog…

    Siguiendo este consejo creo que la próxima entrada te dejare un cuento mío de hace unos siete años. Me dejas tooodos los comentarios negativos que quieras. Me gustaría divertirme leyendo como me iba hace siete años, comparado con lo que hago ahora. Big Choma se va a acordar. Era un cuento donde las cosas sucedían…así nada más. No había conflicto de ninguna especie. ¿Qué puedes mostrarme tú de tus fracasos para generar tu propia historia siguiendo los pasos descritos aquí?

    [1] En caso de que te preguntes como es que me conozco esta historia si no puedo jugar videojuegos porque me mareo…es porque: a)tengo un hermano que sí juega y b)yo era fan de Link, así que me pegaba para ver las secuencias de película de este videojuego en particular o le leía la guía a mí hermano. Incluso llegué a pegarme para algunas secuelas de Final Fantasy….no sé cuál pero había un Tidus.