The ONE thing to know about storytelling is that, like cooking, plumbing, and robbing a bank, storytelling is really a collection of skills and strategies rather than a single unifying rule to follow.
I know you probably don’t want to hear that. But look at this:
– How do I know when I’m using too much detail?
– How do you know where to stop?
– How to add twists to a story?
– Making up stories… When might you want to do this?
A few days ago, I asked readers what questions they have about storytelling. Above are a few of the replies I got.
All fair questions. All require separate answers. Any answer that could possibly answer all of them, such as tension! or surprise! or delight!, is so vague as to be useless.
But wait, there’s more.
The real thing I want to share with you in this email is not the discouraging message above.
Rather, I wanna tell you something interesting I read yesterday in a book about magic and showmanship. The author of that book says the best performers, magicians, and showmen practice something he calls conservation.
Conservation: the ability to do more and the will to refrain.
From the book: “If we try to give any routine more importance than it will bear, we destroy the illusion and may reveal the secret.” Hence, conservation. The willingness to hold back the full might of your armory of magic tricks.
Same goes for storytelling.
There are lots of tricks if you really break down what the best storytellers do.
But in order to tell an interesting and effective story, you definitely do not need all of these tricks. In fact, one or two tweaks to what you might normally do are all it takes to turn a bland story into something memorable and exciting.
And on the other hand, making use of more than just one or two tricks per story is likely to destroy the illusion and may reveal the secret.
What secret?
Well, for that (drumroll) I invite you to join me for the free presentation on storytelling that Kieran Drew and I will host on Monday, specifically at 4pm CET/10am EST/7am PST (yes, I know).
This presentation is a bonus for those who get Simple Money Emails before the presentation goes live. After that, no free bonus.
If you already have Simple Money Emails, you should have gotten an email from either Kieran or me with the Zoom link to join Monday’s presentation.
And if you don’t yet have Simple Money Emails, you can get it at the link below. I could try for some callback humor right now to wrap up this email, but instead I will conserve and refrain. Here’s the link: