It’s new, it’s thrilling, it’s sexy…it’s Monday RUN day! Documenting my first run of the week, this live tweet thread is a real-time account of the lead up to, and actual experience of, a non-runner’s lunch run.
Relating to your viewers
Despite the mundane topic, I wanted this thread to be relatable, suspenseful, and emotive, in order to create a compelling story. Who doesn’t dread exercise!? Will she make it through the run!? What’s going to happen next!? I crafted this thread along the lines of a thriller story like the ones we saw in our required readings; I wanted there to be some tension and suspense about what would happen next, but I also used humour to relate to readers, elicit emotion, and acknowledge the absurdity of turning such an ordinary activity into a topic worthy of being shared as a story.
Good storytelling
Using short sentences and writing how you speak lends to the authenticity of the live tweet, and it is effective in pulling the audience into the story, enticing them to keep reading. The pacing of short stories such as this one is essential to keeping readers engaged and invested in the events that are unfolding…it’s more like listening to a friend recounting an exciting incident than reading any type of literature! My story has a clear beginning (introducing the topic, telling the audience what to expect and creating anticipation with the first tweet), middle (the highs and lows of the run experience, as well as the tension created throughout), and end (completion of the run) and resolves with the protagonist having grown and changed in some way (professional runner, ready to tackle a marathon). I kept to the basic structure of the 8-point Story Arc, although with a Twitter story, I feel it’s unnecessary to introduce your protagonist and establish “stasis”. You can assume that your audience is roughly on the same page as you and jump right into the “trigger” or event that launches your story, subsequently taking them through the thrilling steps of your adventure.
Writing in this way is exciting and can be very expressive – the creativity that emerges when you are limited by word count and format is fascinating. As a writer, you must be able to very quickly reel your audience in and get them on your level – their limited point of view allows them to experience the event as you are, right now, in the moment. Short-snippet storytelling is an extremely distilled way to share your perspective on something, making it a very relatable and engaging way to connect with your audience.
EXSM 3989 - Digital Storytelling Class Blog 