All good stories have a beginning, middle, and end. Great stories make sure that they cover off a wee bit more than that. Check out this infographic below for 4 tips to remember when telling a story!
Thinking you could use a bit more advice before you venture into the world of storytelling? Check out this post for some great tips!
This blog post is for my mentally ill pals and my mentally ill pals ONLY. Ok, now that it’s just us, when’s the last time you had a shitty mental health day where you didn’t want to get out of bed?!
Mine was this past Saturday. I woke up and instantly knew, today is not my best day. I could’ve laid in bed all day and sat in my sorrow but instead, I tried to turn the day around with the help of my pal Michelle. (I am Michelle and she is ALSO Michelle. Strange I know but you’ll get used to it.)
Michelle, who will now be lovingly referred to as Mich2 for clarity, had to go to work for an hour at The Great Canadian Theatre Company (GCTC) and invited me along. We decided we would go thrifting afterwards because thats what the Hot Girls are doing these days.
There was a little “potential fire” drama at the theatre but it turned out to be a false alarm. Honestly, what is a theatre without the drama?! After the alarm was shut off and the patrons were back in the building, we headed out to Value Village to find some special items.
Before we made it to VV, we had to make a pit stop at Metro to get some hot crossed deals from the bakery. Mich2 had heard about an app where you can get baked good surprise bags that are about to expire for only $5.99! We did a quick “unboxing” moment for all 42 of my followers to enjoy.
After the unboxing we headed to VV and found some great treasures. The day finished off with a big fountain pop and some kitten snuggles. It was a great escape from my own head, even if it was just for a day! You can read our whole adventure here.
Now let’s chat Twitter and threads. I love a good tweet thread. Short sentences, cut up into easily digestible chunks? Hell to the yes.
I think when someone takes the time to write a Twitter thread it’s because they really have something to say. It’s always a funny story, an angry rant, or an interesting topic and I eat it up, every time.
I think Twitter threads work so well for today’s audiences because we have super short attention spans. If I saw a huge paragraph on Twitter, I’m probably scrolling by. If I see a thread, you’ve immediately got my attention. Add GIF’s, photos, or videos and I’m fully invested.
Twitter is a great way for authors to quickly share their thoughts and feelings BUT they do need to watch what they post. Because we can share information with the push of a button, it’s easy to post things that are misinformed. News outlets, for example, use Twitter to give rapid updates on evolving situations. This is a great way to keep people informed BUT it’s also very easy to post info that isn’t necessarily 100% accurate.
Twitter doesn’t do as great of a job verifying information like Facebook does. Anybody can post and have people believing it’s true. Blue checkmarks used to be a way to verify information coming from a source. For example, celebrities could tweet something and if they had a checkmark we knew it was actually coming from them. Today, anyone can pay for a checkmark, thanks Elon, and make it seem like they’re a verified account. A man pretended to be a pharmaceutical company and tweeted that insulin was now free. The actual company had to put a statement out that it wasn’t true.
All in all, I still think Twitter is a great way to share information. Just make sure you double check sources and make sure that what you’re actually reading is factual.
Now go forth and tweet!
Ahhh The Notebook. I’m sure we can all recall that gut wrenching tale.
I remember the first time I watched this movie in 2010. I was in high school, I had my first boyfriend (hey Cody) and I was fully and unequivocally in love. A tale like this was truly going to strike a chord with me. In my head, Cody and I were a modern day Noah and Allie. If you haven’t seen this movie, I’m not sure what you’ve been doing for the past almost 20 years of your life! You need to pause whatever you’re doing IMMEDIATELY and at least do your soul a little good by watching the trailer here.
The movie takes place in the 40’s and immediately I was hooked. They did a pretty stellar job of casting a couple of absolute stunners. Rachel McAdams was breathtakingly beautiful throughout the entire movie, even when she was bawling her eyes out, which is rude because who gave her permission?! The other star who managed to grab the attention of every single woman AND man alive was Ryan Gosling. He was charming, thoughtful, and handsome as hell in this movie. In the chance you’re STILL swooning over him, which let’s be real – you are, here’s your new favourite website to keep up on all things R-Gos.
Alright – enough about the hotties. Now let’s get into the real meat and potatoes of the obsession with this movie, the story. It starts with two young teens who come from completely different worlds and they may not just be meant for each other. For me, as a 16 year old girl, this was so relatable. I was a city girl (not really, I’m from North Bay) and Cody was from a small town (a true fact but the small town was just outside of mine LOL.) He liked dirtbikes and I loved shopping. A story like this, where I could see myself in it, had me HOOKED no questions asked.
Now back to the movie, where Noah and Allie spent a summer falling in love. It evoked such emotion in me. You could see how much they really loved each other and just how much they meant to one another. Allie’s mother however, felt a completely different way. She makes Allie break up with him, claiming he’s no good for her. Allie’s mom tells her they’re leaving their summer home tomorrow and that she has to say goodbye to Noah that night. Noah writes to her for 365 days, a letter every freaking day, and they all go unanswered. It appears they both go their separate ways for many years. Allie even gets engaged to someone else. (THE HORROR. Although James Marsden was a cutie.) Fate finally brings them back together and they eventually stop denying the obvious connection they have. They end up together and live what is presumed to be happily ever after. Although, there was something else going on in the movie.
Throughout the story, they flash back and forth between the 1940’s tale and what looks to be present day. At the beginning, we weren’t really sure of the connection here but as the story develops there’s a sinking feeling in the bottom of your tummy that makes you realize that the woman suffering from dementia present day is the same carefree girl we came to love, Allie.
The whole time during the movie an older man, who we now know to be Noah, is reading a tale to an elderly woman, Allie. Initially it looks like he’s just reading to her but in reality, he’s trying to get her to remember THEIR OWN LOVE STORY. I was gutted. It was this moment for me that added a completely new depth to the story that still to this day invokes a visceral reaction. As the movie nears its end Allie remembers the story and realizes it’s her and Noah. They only have a few moments before her brain forgets again and we’re left devastated that this is now Noah’s reality. Cue this face:
The movie ends in the most beautiful but freaking sad way where they both pass away in each other’s arms and can tell you that there wasn’t enough tissue in the world then for me to suppress my boogery sobs and as a matter of fact there still isn’t enough to this day.
When I watch the movie back with my fiance (surprise it’s not Cody it’s my hunka, hunka burning love cutie JP) I really understand all of the story and why it gets me so emotional. It’s one that could happen to any of us. We all have someone we care for deeply, someone that the love feels so high stakes with. That losing it would just be the most impossible thing in the world. It’s also a sad fact of reality, one day we WILL lose that person. The movie is incredible and I still think about it when I think of how I want to love and be loved.
I recommend you watch it. It’s a really fantastic story and also a very good emotional release. Just make sure that if you are going to check it out, that you buy this before you do so.
Enjoy!
Michelle
EXSM 3989 - Digital Storytelling Class Blog 