Most of the class last Monday was about “leap”. To tell good stories, you should let the audience make the last leap. And the essence of being a filmmaker is to make a leap of faith when he/she has to decide between listening to everybody’s feedback or choosing to follow his/her instincts and guts. Business people can cut you off from your audience.
So, if you follow your instincts, what are the ingredients of a good story?
- Know when to stop and let other people think
- Put your character under extreme pressure and force him/her to make a choice
- Don’t forget the power of one particular word: the title
- Be specifics and “on the nose”. Being real and concrete helps people stay inside the story
- Analyzing keeps you out of story
I will try with humility to give my view on story telling.
First, it is amazing to tell stories because you make people unplug their brains and focus on their hearts. No more worries, no more problems, no more job issues… just pure adventure.
It is 15 years since I tell stories. I wrote books, novels, short stories, articles and plays. I also took pictures and sketched cartoons. Each activity is my leap of faith. Each activity is my way to build bridge with people. I don’t share but tell. This is my only secret. I always try to make people forget about myself. I try to ring some universal bells so that the audience can own the story. This is when the audience put itself into the story that people smile, laugh, or cry. This moment is incredible and unique. This fraction of second when people laugh is worth a million.
I agree with what was said in class. It is far better to say less than too much. Often people try to say a lot because they want to be global. They want to touch the most and think they have to describe and analyze to create a global situation, a situation that will be taken the same way everywhere on earth. This is a mistake. The purpose is to be universal. By universal, I mean to give the minimum clues to invite the audience in your home but to let it choose where it wants to have dinner: in the living room, in the kitchen, in the bedroom, on the patio and even in the toilets. Telling the story about a father and a son is universal. Everybody has a father. Afterwards, each individual has a specific and singular story as a father or with his/her father. This is where as a storyteller you let people go on their own path… But not too much because periodically you give other clues that will guide the audience, partly on your path and partly on its.
Finally, I would say that storytelling is not about sharing but giving. Often when you write and go on stage or make a movie, it is all about your ego. As a storyteller, you need to make the balance between listening to yourself and giving to others. When you find the right balance, the magic goes on.
So, stop reading this post and tell stories!
“Storytelling reveals meaning without committing the error of defining it.” – Hannah Arendt
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