Author: kdmorri2

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Story Structure Across 5 Types of Social Media

– Kelly Dawn Morrison –

With each post on social media, your hope is to interest your readers long enough that they learn, sign up, or get inspired, amused, angry, and a whole spectrum of emotions you can evoke. If you want your message remembered and maybe even shared, your story will contain some tenets of story structure; a beginning, middle and end; a story spine outline where possible, and answers to the 5 W’s.

Social Networking

On LinkedIn, your professional network will want to share your content if they believe their network will find it valuable. They’ll want it to be factual, and maybe even include reputable sources. If you decide to story tell on Facebook and Twitter, your social network will expect to read your story in your voice. Your profile will allow you to interact  with your readers, which further engages them.

Avoid “vaguebooking“, which leaves the reader with a line of question marks and potentially a damaging impression of how you handle emotions. You can do this by sharing the facts (the 5w’s) and considering why you feel it’s important to share.

Photo Sharing

Instagram and Pinterest are the major photo-sharing platforms. Where a picture is worth a thousand words, the visuals shared on Instagram are powerfully influencing, but don’t allow you to link out within your captions. Even with this limitation, the Stories feature lets the creator share snippets the reader can click through. This could provide a platform to follow the story spine (2) structure:

  • Once upon a time…
  • Every day….
  • But one day…
  • Because of that…
  • Because of that…
  • Because of that…
  • Until finally…
  • And ever since then…
More details about the story spine

Video Sharing

No matter what story you are sharing, YouTube and Vimeo both help you dig into all the details and bring forward emotions through moving images, sounds and structure. Embed your video within a post if you want to elaborate, or let it stand alone. For the smoothest delivery, create a storyboard and a script. Although you want to avoid reading the script (and sounding like an animatron), scripting the video will help make sure all your points are covered. Starting your story with the audience in mind will help you to get the algorithm working for you.

Interactive Media

If you have a funny, visually exciting or educational story to share, sharing on Snapchat or TikTok can be a great way to reach younger (-thinking) audiences. You can tell your story in a creative way, including video, filters, music and overlay text. Plan your story in parts that will fit within the time allowances for each platform.

Blogging/Community Building Sites

Much like this blog, yours can be a final landing place where the readers collect all the details. You can also use it as a launching pad from which your readers discover all the pieces of your story. Tumblr and Redditt are split into categories or niches, where a WordPress blog might be entirely based on one niche. Much like Social Networking sites, the ability to engage with the audience keeps the story alive and growing.  The blog format provides space to use multiple images and videos, and longer stories tend to rank higher in Google searches, especially if you link out to other resources.

Wrapping it all up

With all the choices available to tell your story, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and frustrated. Keep it simple and keep it structured to leave room for your creativity to flow!

References:

  1. Alison McAdam, “Beyond the 5 W’s: What should you ask before starting a story?”, NPR, December 2016
  2. Kenn Adams, “Back to the Story Spine”, Aerogramme Studio, June 2013
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Kelly’s Recipe for Scrumptious Storytelling

Kelly D Morrison

It happens to the best of us. We re-read our digital story and can feel something is missing. Or, worse yet, we have a momentary block about where to start. Sound familiar?

If so, you can refer to this infographic. Much like a recipe, missing a key storytelling ingredient can make the final product feel flat. And of course, adding too much of a good thing can make the creation inedible.

While reviewing it, I hope something stands out and gives you an “ah-ha” moment.

Let’s look a bit deeper…

For example, pre-defining how you add value for the reader can give you confidence that the reader will walk away remembering the lesson or emotion you offered. Adding suspense can be as simple as inserting imagery that suggests there could be something hidden, or playing with dramatic irony where the reader learns something that’s hidden from the character.

And where is this going to be read, anyway?

Sometimes writers can get so excited to share their message, they fail to consider how to alter the message for the medium. Could your visual be stronger for Instagram? Maybe you should change it to a video or GIF for Facebook? Did you polish the wording to appeal to your professional contacts on LinkedIn?

Keep writing, regardless if you feel stuck or unsatisfied with what you wrote. By reviewing what you’ve written with the ideas offered here, you will stir up some great creations.

Salut!

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My Test of Faith (in my Dog)

-Kelly Dawn Morrison

Adventures in trusting an anxious dog

We’re lucky to have found a dog as great as Winston. For more than a year we sent in application after application without ever hearing anything back from the rescues and animal welfare groups. Then one day we came across an ad – a family had to rehome their puppy after a month because their baby was allergic to him.

Winston is loving and forceful about it!

We have another Boston who is 8 years old and I always remembered him being easy. While he has taught Winston how to be a polite dog and how to play, one thing we had to learn was how to help Winston through separation anxiety. This live Twitter feed walks the reader through the first day that I put up a gate so Winston couldn’t spend the day with me while I worked from home.

“What needs to happen before people go back to normal life is begin social distance inside of the house. Let’s say, if the dog follows you 100 times, don’t let him follow you 50 times,”

Cesar Millan, June 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmVSLqCh-RI
I’m certain Winston dreams of doggie daycare while I work.

I wanted to explore a variety of common themes in this exercise. This topic is relatable in 2022 as people struggle with transitioning back to work with a pet who is used to them being around. My concern about my home being destroyed, and fear of the unknown when all I hear is silence, both build up tension and suspense. Seeing what a good boy he is being allows the reader to feel all the emotions with me when I see he is doing some surprise activities when I check on him. It couldn’t be much more authentic because I was really living it! And there is a sense of urgency as I worry about an item he finds and chews.

To help the flow of the story, I followed the structure of a simplified story spine:

Once upon a time… & every day…: I describe how life has gone so far and how we managed Winston’s anxiety and trouble with potty training.

But one day…: It’s time, I tell the readers, to try trusting my dog after all this training.

Because of that…: I set up the room, and prepare the puppy for success.

Because of that…: I describe an almost anti-climactic silence I hear.

Until finally…: I can wait no longer so I start to look in on him. I describe what I see in pictures with very brief commentary.

And ever since then…: I bring the reader to a conclusion about whether this experiment was successful. The story is closed with some surprise added value for the readers.

And now, please enjoy the sweet boy’s first day of freedom!

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A Dreamy Story I’ll Never Forget

One of my favourite stories is the movie What Dreams May Come. It’s the story of Chris and Annie, a couple deeply in love. Annie is a talented and sensitive artist and  Chris is her biggest fan. They suffer a devastating loss of their two children which changes their lives forever, with Chris trying everything he can to make Annie happy again. Four years later, Chris seems to be breaking through to Annie when he also dies in a car accident one stormy night. He wakes up to his friend welcoming him to Heaven and showing him around. Heaven is magical, a place right out of Annie’s most beautiful paintings where he learns he can do anything. His dog jumps out, slipping across the wet paint of the colourful field he is in, and the sky swirls shades of blue and white. He can fly, walk on water and touch the delicate paint strokes of a flower. He seems happy.

Except one day, he learns Annie has taken her own life, and when suicide is involved, the people don’t end up at the same place as Chris has found himself. The movie follows him as he tries to find her and save her from the dark fate she is living. He never gives up, and is determined that because they are destined to be together, he will be able to save Annie.

I now realize this story has stuck with me for over 20 years because of the four reasons Linda Brown discusses in her Module 2 video. If you view the video, specifically at the time stamps below, you’ll see this story is a great example of how a good storyteller makes a story moving.

The Universal Message Of Love Conquers All. [Time stamp 1:49]

The writers set the story up so that I fell in love with their relationship. I felt comfortable and engrossed in her art and his love of it. I wanted it to last and for them to be happy. The story of love conquering all is timeless and some argue is the oldest story of all time. I just know I’m drawn to a well-written love story based on a supportive and committed relationship.

Clear Structure and Purpose. [Time stamp 2:26]

The writer developed the feelings of the characters long enough that I understood what they were going through. I felt their pain, and Chris’ perseverance left me with the message to never give up, no matter how hard the road ahead seems. Events happened at a pace and in a sequence that made sense to me. Although the message of love conquering all is woven through the entire story, the deeper message is that faith is what gives you strength to not give up when you see no other option.

Simplicity. [Time stamp 3:25]

The visuals of this move won both an Academy Award and a Satellite Award, but the simple story of love lost and the journey back to each other is what really keeps the viewer engaged.

A Character to Root For. [Time stamp 3:42]

Robin Williams played the character of Chris in this show, and portrayed him as sincere, passionate, honorable and committed. His reasons to keep fighting are powerful, and leave the viewer desperate for him to prove that love conquers all.

Overall, the story of What Dreams May Come captivates a viewer who is not afraid of deep and dark emotions and inspires her to feel those emotions and work her way through them. The visual effects tempt the viewer to explore the screen as if she were in a gallery. It draws her in to a world as beautiful as she can imagine, full of hope and perseverance.

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