Perhaps I should have paid more attention to the 6+ warning on the Nerf Super Soaker box, or maybe I should have just let the flowers enjoy their water. But we can’t live in the what ifs, so I’m here to share the story of what I thought was going to be a #momwin.
Thinking it was a great idea, I recently purchased some Super Soakers for my kids to enjoy while our summer actually feels like summer. However, what quickly transpired was far from my expectations. There was no epic water battle, just the rise and fall of a younger brother who thought he was invincible.
My real-time Twitter thread uses storytelling techniques and principals in a number of ways. It holds all the elements of a story:
- Setting (the sunny backyard)
- Characters (3-year-old and 5-year-old brother/sister duo)
- Plot (Mom bought fun new super soakers for core summer memories)
- Conflict (in its truest form: sibling conflict)
- Arc (the rise and fall of a not-so-invincible younger brother)
Using the 8-point story arc as a reference, the Twitter thread’s stasis begins in the backyard. The super soakers are full and the kids are calmly watering the flowers. They have chosen their course of action and it’s peaceful, useful.
Then Mom steps in and triggers a change. The idea of chasing each other around the yard with cold water as ammunition excites both children, but only one remembers the one and only rule: if you spray your brother/sister, they can get you back.
The 3-year-old embarks on his life-long quest to take down his older sister. He pulls the trigger and soaks her back. He has won, he’s victorious, and he’s on top of the world.
The 5-year-old is surprised by her suddenly cold back and she makes the critical choice to challenge her brother. She begins to chase him around the backyard, anticipation is growing, the smile appears on her face, the dread on his.
The climax is reached as she narrows her sights on her younger adversary. Will she be successful and soak her brother with cold water? Will the water fight continue?
We come to the Twitter thread’s reversal when the 5-year-old makes contact with her target. Due to her critical choice and the actions taken during the climax, she has sprayed her brother with cold water and he is now on the ground. He sadly accepts defeat and retreats into typical 3-year-old ways.
The resolution of the story happens when the children agree to take a break and go back to watering flowers. Peace is restored and they return to a new, albeit somewhat scarred, stasis.
In addition to these storytelling principals, the Twitter thread includes images and video to engage the audience. In his article, How to use storytelling to craft better tweets, Nick Reese says that “Tweets with video [attract] 10x more engagement than Tweets without video”.
To keep the audience coming back for more, and to keep the story at the top of the feed, the Tweets are published separately, with the second Tweet coming an hour after the initial post was shared.
This Twitter thread is intended for everyone, however parents, guardians, and caregivers will be able to connect to the story the most. Its colourfulness offers an all-too-relatable story in a funny and entertaining way.
EXSM 3989 - Digital Storytelling Class Blog 