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Storytelling
Course: Storytelling > Unit 2
Lesson 1: We are all storytellers- Introduction to storytelling
- Your unique perspective
- Activity 1: Expressing memories
- Your favorite stories
- Activity 2: Your three favorite films
- What if...
- Activity 3: What if...
- World & character
- Activity 4: Characters & worlds
- Advice from storytellers
- Glossary: Storytelling
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Introduction to storytelling
Welcome to storytelling!
Want to join the conversation?
- What actually makes a story extraordinary ?(48 votes)
- I agree. I often make up and write stories about myself travelling to alternate dimensions. It's fun to think about, but like abiemans said, I, too loose interest in things while I'm not even halfway through. The stories that I actually stick to is ones that I'm extremely excited about...until, or course, I come up with a whole other cool story. After that I end up working on three stories at once, which can be kind of confusing....(23 votes)
- Hey guys. I really want to be an author- some of my teachers even say I should do something with the small, short, stories I write in school for our Creative Writing tasks. I really want to be able to write a good, long, chapter novel, but every time I start writing something, when I come back to it, I can't seem to be bothered to actually continue it. I lose interest in the story, even though I kinda want to do it. I suppose some people would call it 'Writer's Block', but I have it a lot of the time.
I once tried to write a story, but I ended up losing interest in it. But its's so easy for me to create stories in my mind, but I can never seem to write them down, because I never know where to start.
I don't really know what to do.
Any ideas or tips? Much appreciated!(40 votes)- I also have had issues with sticking with a written story, and it wasn't until recently that I've completed any. The only way I did it was to take a little part of one of the stories I wrote in my mind, and fleshed it out and made it much longer, until it was a story in and of itself, sufficient to stand alone, with options for a sequel. This story I recently turned into a film script, and hope to eventually produce it as a completed film.(17 votes)
- I get stories stuck in my head but I'm never able to express them properly. :((10 votes)
- Exactly!
I have found that practice helps though. I often talk to my family about the books I am currently reading and have to summarize clearly to do so. I used to be terrible at it, but I've gotten better. Talking about other people's stories improved my ability to communicate and organize my own. I hope this helps you and wish you good luck with your story creation. :)(11 votes)
- I have this amazing world planned out in my head, the world of 'Myosotis' about people with elemental powers. My mom and my sister both say it's a good concept, but I can't seem to find the right way to start. What should I do?(6 votes)
- Flesh out your characters first. Regardless of tone, you will need to establish characters to distinguish them from each other and allow them to have interesting interactions.
For instance, imagine the following simple characters:
Heather: Reckless and bold. Likes to go in head-first and is not afraid of what will happen.
Danny: Cautious and shy. Likes to play it safe and avoid danger, if possible.
Now imagine that Heather and Danny went into a haunted house. While Danny might be cowering behind Heather or urging her not to go in, Heather might just walk right in just for the sense of adventure. Danny might stay quiet or take small steps, but Heather might be running up and down the stairs. Additionally, when the two are trying to escape, Danny might run to look around for the exit, while Heather might attempt to break the house's walls to get out as soon as possible. Characters will have different reactions and personalities, and this will show--regardless if your story will be a comedy or serious story.
Nest, consider your tone and priorities. Does your story take itself seriously, does it make fun of itself, or is it somewhere in between? What is your intended audience (I.E.: Look at the dialogue in the Avengers movies and compare it to your average Spongebob episode)? Do you want to focus on the story, the relationships between the characters, action, or comedy?
Think of your conflicts and goals as well. These will provide some basis to your story.
Do you need more advice?(10 votes)
- Hi my name is Tahiri.So you said write what you know well I am writing a book about a goddess and a human girl with an abusive family a betrothal. How can tie in what I know about humans and greek mythology with the modern world?(7 votes)
- yeah good idea susanna!I'm Annebeth and I do suggest 'Percy Jackson' and 'heroes of olympus'(4 votes)
- I always have a problem writing a story :
My stories get very boring at the end....... I don't really know the problem??(4 votes)- For me, when I get near the end, I start to get impatient and I want to get the comic done like that afternoon😳. The ending always turns out quick and meaningless. I suppose in this su bject, patience and imagination is the best policy. Get sometimes, I get too much imagination and some parts turn out nonsensical and scary..(4 votes)
- What actually makes a story extraordinary ?(3 votes)
- The development of the character, realization, feelings and deep learning. That's what a life is all about.
Values : )(5 votes)
- Hi! I see here that most of you here in the comments are writing your own books. That's great, keep it up! I am too, and I was wondering if any of you knew a good way to get your book bound? Thanks you guys!(4 votes)
- I am more interested in game development then movie making, will this still be applicable?(3 votes)
- By "This" do you mean Pixar in a box's storytelling? Of course!
You need a proper story or concept in a game or a movie to make your audience or players feel something.(2 votes)
- How many movies has Pixar made? And did you invent Pixar? And if you did invent Pixar, is Pixar your last name?(3 votes)
- 1. Pixar has made 22 feature-length films.
2. Pixar employees are not active in answering the questions on KA. Pixar was founded by a collection of animators and funded by Steve Jobs. Pixar is currently owned by Walt Disney.(2 votes)
Video transcript
- Hey Pete. - Oh hey Val. - How's it goin'? - You know what, I'm
havin' a really bad day. - What happened? - See what Val's saying when
she says, "What happened," is, tell me a story. And that's actually what this season of Pixar in a Box is all about. To make a movie here at Pixar takes years, but it all starts with a story. Humans have been telling stories since we could speak, probably before. We tell stories around the campfire, we write plays, we write
novels, short stories. We make movies, we take
photographs, tweet to each other, the list goes on. The power of story is
that it has an ability to connect with people
on an emotional level. One of the things you hear all the time, this advice, is write what you know. Now, as a kid I was like, I don't want to write about suburban
Minnesota, that's boring. I wanna write about explosions and monsters and car chases. Well, what that actually means is, yeah go ahead and write about monsters and explosions and car
chases, but put something into it that talks about your
own life, how you feel. Do you feel scared? Do you feel alone? Something from your own life will make that story come alive and not just be a boring car chase. - (mumbles) - When I started directing
Monsters, Incorporated, the way I would pitch it is, it's about a monster who
scares kids for a living. That's his job. He clocks in, he clocks
out, he eats donuts and talks about union dues, and we thought that was a pretty funny idea. And sure enough, when I would tell it to people, they would smile. But when we told the story as a film, people started getting bored and restless and they're like, "I don't understand "what this movie's about." Well, what I finally figured out was that it's actually not about
a monster who scares kids, it's about a man becoming a father. (laughing) That was what was happening to me. So, why write about what you know? Well, it's because, probably what happened to you made you feel some particular way. And what you're trying to
do really when you tell a story, is to get the audience
to have that same feeling. One of the big revelations
for me telling stories, is how much work they are, really. I always thought, you would just tell the story once, and it would be perfect. And geniuses like Walt Disney or Miyazaki, this brilliance comes
out of their head once, and there it is. Well the truth is, our
stories don't always come out exactly perfectly the first time, or the second time, or the third time, or the fourth time, up to the 30th time. And so you keep going again and again. And only after retelling the story many, many times, does it really sparkle. This season of Pixar in a Box is about how we at Pixar tell our stories, in hopes that it will
inspire you to tell yours. - But, seriously, what happened? - Oh, oh, so the first thing. I get to my desk, right? It's eight o'clock in the morning...