This week I have been immersed in a world of stories, or rather contemplating the methods of creating and telling a story and defining what are my own ‘catalogues of narrative’ for my latest online storytelling project which I’m currently developing.

Telling stories on the big screen

It started last Saturday with a screen writing workshop at The Art Organisation (a wonderfully informal community venue, perfect for this fun and interactive workshop) in Nottingham, organised by local screen writer Adrian Reynolds.  Adrian got us thinking about both the mechanics of writing for the visual medium of film, asking us to come up with concepts for films without words which differentiate film as a visual storytelling medium rather than the ‘talking heads’ of television drama.  We looked at narrative structures for film schematics like the hero’s journey.  The mechanics of this are nothing new: these story structures can be applied to everything from Greek legends to The Godfather.  I’m convinced my online story needs to consider these structures – even short form  fragmented content online has to consider the overall journey of the viewer. It would be interesting to see how I can overlay the format of a classic story onto something that plays out through a series of intertextual multimedia elements.

Storytelling for the web

On Wednesday I attended a workshop organised by Media Sauce on making money from multiplatform content.  There’s a good write-up by the aforementioned Adrian Reynolds on what we discussed around IP, content formats and the evolution of TV commerce.

I was pleased to be offered a multiplatform training grant from media skills training body Skillset, which has afforded me the time and expertise to deepen my knowledge of online content  – flexing both my business and creative muscles.  A workshop earlier this month with major interative drama producer Sean Coleman focused on interactive storytelling: I stumbled my way through a description of my drama which has a genre (comic mystery) and a technical platform (Facebook) but scant details yet on the narrative.

My approach is unusual: unlike most film-makers-turned-interactive producer, I come from a technical background as a web producer, en route years as a web writer and editor, via a degree in music and drama.  But ‘doing’ rather than ‘telling’ a story places me at a different part of the creative process at conception which is for me a wide unknown space.  At both workshops, my fellow television and film trainees told me: it’s all about the story. Have the story and you have something you can create from and sell. For interactive storytelling this still poses a challenge: but it’s about using the mechanics to play through compelling characters and story.

Telling winning stories for sales

Thursday was the end of a the Exponential training programme, a course I participated on last year, with gruelling business simulations, skills accrediting and epic report writing eventually qualifying me as the first person in the UK with a Diploma in Strategy Business Coaching.  

John Leach from Winning Pitch was an inspirational speaker: his plain-speaking and driven ‘get off your arse’ approach to business placed the ‘win’ as all about YOU: research shows that 70% of a relationship the client chooses with their consultant is down to your personal relationship: do they like you?  Can you get on?  That’s why personal branding is becoming so critically important across all businesses. John’s message a wake-up call for me, as I’ve focused so much energy in recent years on improving my technical skills and sector knowledge – which comes way down the list of why people buy from each other.

Passion is critical in telling your story: business is about fun, fame, fortune and the future.  Strategy is about your personal intention, and success is ascribed to 20% thinking (or strategy) and 80% doing.   John like to have a ‘rant’ about the big issues in his field: have a point of view, get your voice heard – I can’t think of any better way a business can do this than by starting a blog.

Pitching is another form of storytelling for the purpose of selling – what’s the message?  Why me?  Why now? What’s the relevance of what I do to the bigger picture?  Telling a new story is a critical factor for success: there is no traffic on the extra mile. Disney have a ‘cash extraction strategy’ but you part with your pictures-of-the-president with a smile, buying into their world.  Lucosade turned a drink for sickly children into a success product for aspiring sports stars – with a little celebrity storytelling via advertising.

John emphasised that despite being in the service business, as coaches we too can say ‘no’ to clients if the relationship doesn’t fit – selling isn’t just a one way process, and only good relationshipsyield good work. As a business, you need to build long-term gains, not just short-term wins.  I’m going to put John’s advice to the test with some ‘pitch training’ I’m doing on my new digital strategy next week.

Today’s marked the end of a small journey in my own career – in a transition to a novice to a newly qualified business coach.  I’m so proud my team from back in Oct 2008 won Exponential’s winning team award – plus I was shortlisted for most improved coach and outstanding achievement – something I’d never thought, as someone far less experienced, than my peers, I could achieve.  I’m grateful to John, Anne-Marie and the team at Exponential – not to mentioned the other coaches on the programme who’ve been a wealth of support with their experience, wisdom and generosity – for helping me through this mini ‘hero’s journey’ in my own journey.

Are we sitting comfortably?  The Story event, Conway Hall

I  rounded off this epic week with The Story, an event at Conway Hall organised by Matt Locke (who’s ‘day job’ is head of education commissioning at Channel 4, thus the wonderfully diverse and high level speaker list) all about the art of relaxing and enjoying a good story.  The diversity of stories told today was immense: from “Harrison Fraud”, the tale of a tested business relationship told out by forged faxes and letters from Harrison Ford by Tim Wright, considerations of graphic novel telling by Sydney Padua and Livity’s  inspiring tale of Jody McIntyre, a wheelchair using MC, blogger and political activist whose only story includes a journey up Mountt Picchu and student union lock-ins, with his tag line ‘that’s just how I roll’. Neither patronising of what a ‘brave hero’ Jody was, his story was inspiring  as a great person achieving great things against the odds – classic stuff of legends.

Intriguingly, these mix of stories – superb, average and surreal– in many genres and tastes, gained such differing responses from the audience – we all had our best and worst, and these radically differed.  I personally loved Aleks Krotoski’s  slide show of the ‘hidden story’ of the making of her current BBC2 documentary The Virtual Revolution, showing the exciting journey, and frustration of ‘making telly’ when you’re passionate about the subject – others I spoke to thought this was ego-centric self-promotion.  The highlight for some was experimental theatre storyteller Tim Etchells of Forced Entertainment telling monologues of expletive ridden visions of celebrity hell where leading Hollywood ladies thrust Oscar’s up their arse.  I found it an indulgent, misogynistic mix of Naked Lunch cliches and uncomfortably awful stand-up comedy.

The story was starting to unfold: many voices, many styles, many messages make a good story.  But as I learned in a storytelling course at university, the story comes alive through the art of telling – it’s all about communicating the meaning and passion to others in a very personal one to many conversation.  Which comes back to my ‘day job’ of digital strategy and particularly social media marketing, enabling a big action through interlinking many stories and conversations.

Today the story continues, I’m indulging in one of my (many) unconventional interests – telling stories through games.  I’ll be participating in a futuristic group story for 40 people set in a dystopian future, creating our own social stories within the bigger picture – again, not unlike the message vs medium forms of social marketing.  Some would call this a cutting edge form of interactive drama.  We know it’s a great way to have fun.