.audience

Clear Storytelling II-Words & Meaning 204-05

/ Adam / 2 Comments

image of an eye exam chart, seen through glasses

On the small scale, clarity is the meaning of the words the story uses; understanding the rules of grammar, as well as carefully weighing the merits of poetic language and figures of speech (simile, metaphor, analogy, etc.) It’s ensuring audiences have the necessary information to understand “why”; whether it’s why Harry Potter is famous, why he was kept out of the magical world, or why some characters adore Harry while others despise him. Carefully managing “what audiences learn” and “when they learn” is a critical component of good storytelling. (See 107-02 Background Information)

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Discussing Why We Like Stories #AuthorToolbox (Part 2, The Conscious)

/ Adam / 16 Comments

For Part 1, the unconscious, Click Here.

The conscious mind represents the more complex side of every person. The conscious mind takes the simple desires of the unconscious mind and builds more elaborate goals around them. Where the unconscious mind wants to feel and enjoy, the conscious mind wants to overcome a challenge. The conscious mind is the problem solver; cracking codes, assembling pieces, all in an effort to achieve some kind of new understanding, a moment of insight that can only be called an epiphany. The question is, what does the conscious mind want to understand?

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Discussing Why We Like Stories #AuthorToolbox (Part 1, The Unconscious)

/ Adam / 23 Comments

Storytelling is a lifelong journey, full of unexpected detours; learning subjects that can include psychology, philosophy, history, and various scientific disciplines. We point to specific examples of stories and marvel at how they “do it”. Funny or sad, light-hearted or serious, simple or complex, but they’re all stories, which means on some level they share certain basic attributes. One of those attributes is what they do for the audience. I’d like to propose that all stories represent different ways of satisfying two basic desires: the desire to feel, and the desire to think.

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Understanding Audiences through Blogging #AuthorToolbox

/ Adam / 42 Comments

Every writer starts out as a reader, learning how to write through the stories they themselves enjoy. But if publication is your goal, crafting a good story is only the first step. Next comes earning your audience. Whether you choose the traditional route of agents and publishers, or choose self-publication, you still have to convince a complete stranger to spend time reading your work. And the reality is many readers have no idea what that is like.

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