How Do You Take a Tale and Create a Magical Story?

The simple answer?

Show. Don't tell.

When you start to show your audience your story, you're really painting a scene with your words.

You're animating the page, the screen, the content right before their eyes.

One of the fastest ways to create an emotional connection through your story is through character development.

That can take the form of developing a fictional character and displaying that character's morals, views, beliefs, and actions for the audience to see, or, you can get hyper-personal and tell your audience who you are at your core.

And your audience will soon feel like you're a close friend.

They'll forget that you're actually a stranger.

This creates an environment of connection and unity within you, your brand, and your audience.

That's my goal with this newsletter.

To help others learn how to tell their story.

We all have a story to tell, we all have a voice, we all have the opportunity to develop close and meaningful relationships with one another, as long as we're open to letting people see who we are and what makes us tick.

And sometimes, shining the light on yourself isn't always comfortable.

I know for me it isn't.

I actually hate being on stage.

The second fastest way to create an emotional connection through your story, in my opinion, is through dialogue and voice.

Incorporating your voice, or your character's voice, into the story humanizes the story.

That use of voice makes the story come alive.

And again, it builds that familiarity and connection between your story, your character, and your audience.

And people might ask: "So what?"

So, what's the purpose?

Why are you telling me this?

What do you hope to achieve in sharing these stories?

The answers to these questions lie within your goals.

When you can answer those questions, and talk about the who, what, why, when, and how of your values, you'll be able to write stories that captivate, engage, and leverage your audience.

That's the goal, right?

Turning lurkers to lovers?

(Brand-lovers, that is.)

As November nears, I keep remembering one of the first letters I wrote to Emerson.

With my words, I weave emotional catharsis into the story.

I make short, powerful statements.

You don't have to write 1,000s of words to tell a story.

You can tell a story in a second.

↓

I wrote on 12/3/21:

”On the first day, my feet became concrete. My eyes clouded over. My lungs didn't work. My voice disappeared.

On the second day, I sorted the mail. I talked to the funeral home. I signed her death certificate. I cried in Target.

On the third day, I played video games for 18 hours. I ate once. I didn't brush my teeth.

On the fourth day, Eli made me eat and I screamed in my head: 'THERE’S NO WAY SHE'S DEAD' while swallowing cardboard.

I touched the prints of her hands and feet and choked.”

101 words, and you know there's a before, a during, and an after.

You can feel the intense loss.

You can imagine doing almost everything I did in the story because the words are simple, descriptive, and relatable.

I always like to remember: You are the most important character in your stories.

You know you.

You know your experiences.

You know your goals, missions, values, and hopes.

You know what you want.

You know the things you need to solve your own problems.

And with that, you know how to tell a story and connect with people who have similar problems - and are looking for solutions.

You're the most powerful part of your brand story.

And highlighting you in your story, letting your audience know that you get it, that's how you take your story and create a breathtaking, engaging, emotional storytelling masterpiece.

Maybe I am The Scarlet Witch… Maybe I’m Not.

“Maybe I am The Scarlet Witch.

Unaware that I’ve created a false reality, but not false enough to mean that it doesn’t exist - that the people inside aren’t real.

Does that make me schizophrenic?

I used to think that I was screaming death in his face and scaring him away. Like I was some fierce being that couldn't be defeated. Like I had actual powers or something. I used to think that if she died, I would release a silent rage, a silent pain, that destroyed everything.

A silent pain heard and felt and seen and touched and breathed.”

How did I write this intro?

I used trending topics of the time.
I used my own experiences.
I used my own emotions.

The story, although written as prose poetry, or experimental autobiography (which has very little rules), is a fictional story.

That doesn’t mean that it’s a lie.
Or that it’s a falsehood.

It’s not a story written to lead people on.
It’s also not a story meant to hoodwink or trick someone.
It’s not a story selling anything.

But you know what? People did buy in.
It was rated as a top story in July 2022 on Vocal.

How did I claim Top Story?
By accident.
No, seriously.

I wrote from my heart, I used extremely descriptive and emotional imagery, I didn’t care if my words were too sad, or too angry, or too much for my audience.
I just wrote.
And I kept writing until I cried all over my laptop.

My biggest belief in my storytelling:
If you, the author, can’t stop crying while you write the story, you’re doing something right.

Emotions are the biggest connectors that we have to one another.
And that includes our audience and clients!

My top 3 top of mind storytelling tips that you can use to connect with your audience and to evoke that emotional reaction are:

(Everyone says: “know your audience” is key, I’m ignoring this, it’s said too much, and sometimes, when you ignore the audience, and write the words locked inside, you can create some really powerful stories.)

1. Create Relatable Characters

My relatable character: Me.

And your relatable character? You.
You know you better than anyone.
You know what moves you.

By creating a character that embodies you, and in turn, your audience, you will be able to connect your audience with the heart of any story - through yourself.

2. Build Emotional Investments

When your audience cares about the story, they’re invested.
They want to know what’s going to happen next.
They want to purchase that one thing that solves the problem.

Creating anticipation and emotional investment can be achieved through conflicts, tension, and resolutions.
All three of these things keep the audience engaged and wanting to know more.
Therefore, they keep reading.

3. Show, Don't Tell

Letting emotions unfold through actions and dialogue make the story more immersive.

Which makes the story more real.
Which ties into creating an emotional investment.
Which ties into the customer journey.
Which we’ll get into in another episode…

Stay tuned!

To read my full story about The Scarlet Witch, check out my Vocal Media profile:

https://vocal.media/poets/maybe-i-am-the-scarlet-witch

To subscribe to my LinkedIn Newsletter, Write on Time, where this article was originally published, click the link below!
https://bit.ly/3vl6zWo