Since 2017, I've dedicated myself to studying narrative theory, from Aristotle to the structuralists (the basis for most contemporary storytelling theory), all leading to my own approaches to storytelling.
In 2005, my mum sits me down in front of the TV. "I've been waiting years for this," she says. I'm invited into the world of Doctor Who, a world set in our own but filled with mystery, danger, and wonder. It the intense imagination I had as a kid, as I continued to look for such wonder in the real world.
I always wanted to recreate those experiences in my own writing, but every time I started to write, I got stuck. "It's cool, but what's the point?"
I now know that a storyteller who can leave audiences still looking for such wonder, danger, and spectacles in the real world as they walk away has succeeded as a storyteller and an artist.
Do you have plans to create a video of how to write an Unreliable Narrator? I am watching the "Hannibal" Netflix series right now, and I am at a point where I CANNOT tell what is real, what is a dream, who's dream it is, or if it's merely Will's madness. It may be an even more amazing example of an Unreliable Narrator than the "Joker" movie. And it is exactly what I wish to use in my novel. If only I could figure out how to write it.... How DO you create a story where even the reader cannot tell what is real from what is a dream, or delusion? I can see the result, but I cannot pick apart the pieces and make it work in my own story.
I’d like to do a full artistic video to explain it, but in short, look up the term phenomenalism. Everything, whether dreams, real life, hallucinations, memories, and imaginations are all real TO YOU, so depictions or descriptions of them are real too. This means, false memories, fantasies, dreams, can all be mistaken for reality as it’s depicted as such. And there’s no context for every experience, meaning, if it’s a dream, the context to confirm that (going to bed) is not remembered and therefore not told. Every experience, from memories to real life to fantasies flow into each other making it difficult to know where real life ends and where the memory or fantasy starts. The the best part is, you never have to clarify what was real if you don’t want to.
When you talk about different character types I already envision certain characters in my own story. It's fascinating how that works just by listening what you have to say.
Dude, what’s with the eyes in your thumbnail? Please don’t go that route. I forget what it’s called, but it’s this new trend in characterizing humans into something else.
I guess I find chaos, challenges, drama interesting and the bits in between are boring to me because there’s not much up in the air. I’m going with what would play out in real time so I guess it can vary.
@@JoeWebb-TheStoryteller Some think prose is a different medium than movie where readers can take break whenever they want, so built in "boring" breaks are not really necessary and writing prose should be page-turning to maintain engagement and increase rate of completion. What's your position on it?
I guess it all depends on what you find interesting. The events would seem completely choppy if I skimmed over these scenes I’m writing now, but I’m finding what’s happening rather boring. So instead, I’m finding interest in the immersion of the sensory details. I guess that works for words too. But to me, actual sounds and visuals will always be more interesting than words on a page or in conversation.
There are a few who are excellent writers, who can make stories that feel real, emotional, deep, _visceral,_ and still can't lie to save their own life Because to them stories are just a different reality
Why in the world is this channel so underrated? These videos are awesome and so helpful to look storytelling from other perspective. Subscribed, for sure. Greetings from Argentina.
Another nugget of encouragement, exactly what I needed to hear today. 🙂 And to double down on that point, writing a *character* who lies is all kinds of fun too. I wrote a short psychological horror story awhile back entirely centered around an unreliable narrator who utterly refused to come to terms with the reality staring him in the face, and it was one of the most fun projects I'd ever done. Left an impact with the people who read it, that's for certain.
Yes, invent all of that, then repeat for everyone in your character web; make sure to connect their past, present and future. The scale of the character web is the difference between good and great writers. Only practice can make perfect, and "practice" involves more than mere writing.
Well everyone can fabricate stories, and we can all think of different details that flesh out our fabrication. But telling the story is something else. It can make a simple story magic.
1st comment ❤ In the process of writing my mu**der mystery 😅 do ya plz reply to me, Joe. AND YAA YOUR CHANNEL HELPS ME A LOT WITH WRITING MY MU**DER- MYSTERY ❤
Back when I first found your channel, I was writing my first mystery story and this detail ended up being the most difficult. It took multiple revisions before I could finally call it done, but in all honesty it ended up being one of my favorite things to write. I look forward to continuing to practice this aspect of the craft, as well as more of your cards.
I'm an overthinker by nature, so this detail is one of the very few I'm hard-wired to think about nearly all the time. However, I would more than welcome that card into my deck as it never hurts to have a reminder, especially since good setups and payoffs can often make the whole story work. Very nicely done, I look forward to what else you have in store.
Not sure why I hesitated to watch this one, but I'm glad I did. This is a very interesting concept. I will absolutely be keeping an eye open for these cards of yours, and I can personally guarantee I'll buy 2 or 3 sets; I know some people who would be thrilled to have tools like this. And on a personal note, don't be too frustrated at yourself for repeating something without meaning to. Personally it doesn't bother me in the slightest as I can tell this is something you're truly passionate about, and far be it from any of us to quell something like that. 🙂
I always say the best mysteries are the ones you don't expect but they've been planted multiple times obviously. The cliche in movies is the style of the Usual Suspects where they flash back to all the little details they overlooked and suddenly "I know who the killer is!" but with a good mystery you shouldn't realise it until the writer wants you to.
My American brain edited your word realisation to realization. I looked it up to double check myself and learned the spelling of the word is correct both ways depending on which country you are from. Learn something new every day. I guess it would be most important depending on where the readers are you plan to target. ❤
And here we have the crux of what a story can be. I read a writing book some time ago (YT doesn't like seeing names in comments so I'll leave him anonymous), and in it the author spoke of the Ceiling Fan Principle, the short version of which can be summed up with "You don't have a story until something goes wrong." Trying to imagine how events unfold around the What If catalyst is honestly a lot of fun, but it can be a bit daunting for anyone who hasn't been around the block very often. It's hard to imagine how a realistic population would react to an alien invasion if all you've seen are Hollywood action movies, for example. In that regard I personally have two options I pick from when thinking about this step: 1) I center the event in a fictionalized version of the real world, one in which I have full knowledge of societal structures, cultural norms, and things like that which make predicting their reactions a bit easier (though it takes a lot more effort to set up an entire world for that, which is another can of worms), and 2) I research historical events that come close to the What If I'm trying to work with and see what kind of reaction took place in real life. I did not know, for example, that during the Spanish Flu outbreak of the early 20th century people were not only required to wear masks at all times, but the punishments were FAR more severe back then. Research can really open your eyes.
Thanks for the video! If we can use this story concept for real life emergent scenarios that happen in our life (the problems that we face), then I believe we can visualize and write our way out of them. With imagination, and rendering the real life emergent scenario onto a paper, we can explore a thousand if not infinite solutions. Side Note: I am wondering about the Dark Night of the Soul. How would one induce such an event to cause self-metamorphosis? I'll explore your video on that, but if you have anything to add in a similar vein to the concept above - it would be much appreciated.
I like your thinking! So, stories are just telling things that happened to people. Us artists make up things and tell them in artistic ways. “Dark night of the soul” is named after the experience real people have, where after one or a many moments of suffering, usually from disappointments, failures, betrayals, deceptions etc, you go and question everything including your own point of living. During that time of questioning, much reflection and personal transformation takes place. You induce it as it would in real life - suffering.
First off, welcome back Joe. Glad to see you again. Getting into the character's heads is where I thrive as a writer, personally. I've always preferred using third-person limited POV as it makes whatever I'm writing far more personal, and it's a wonderful way to immerse myself in the character's mind, to get to know them on the deepest level. As such, Alone Times like what you've described are some of my favorite moments to write. Honestly I often use them for just practice pieces where all I want to do is get to know the characters a bit better. I've had some very interesting revelations about some of them simply through walking in their shoes for a time. Also, a minor quibble, your mic is a bit low when you record; I can still hear you, but I have to turn my volume up to understand anything. Luckily the auto-generated captions work fine.
Hey, it’s interesting to hear these alone times are what you love and are best at, it’s something I have to actively remember to think about or i forget 😂 + Thanks for the volume tip 👌
Been wondering if you’d return to the platform as I know you mentioned you’d been working on some videos etc, so nice to see you back. Story deck cards - brilliant idea, can’t wait to see it and to own a deck 😀 Good to see you again Joe
