Storyteller Tactics Review: Story Structure
Storyteller Tactics Review: From Sh*it to Shining Star
Master this story structure and you cannot fail
Menu
- This is a gold star plot
- Why this works
- But don’t take my word for it
- Examples
- How to make Man in a Hole work for you
- You’re in a hole right now?
- Remember James Bond about to get his vitals eaten by atomic lasers?
- This is why the card gets a gold star
There’s a scene in just about any thriller movie. The hero is at the complete mercy of the villain. Bound and gagged as the laser beam moves closer and the timer on the atomic bomb ticks down.
In a prison cell, being called names by the crooked sheriff. Nailed to a cross. Shackled to alligators. You know how it goes.
The audience is on the edge of their seats. Is this the end? Will the good guy get loose and foil the evil plot?
This is a gold star plot
This Story Structure card gets a gold star in my Storyteller Tactics card deck.
It has a little gold star (at top right) because it is the “head of the family” of Story Structure cards, according to Steve Rawling, the “Storyteller Tactics” man.
The story trajectory is straightforward:
- Comfort Zone. Life cruising along.
- A Trigger event. Something bad happens. Really bad.
- Crisis. Your previous comfort has vanished. You’re in a deep hole. But wait, you have found something…
- Recovery. You work at climbing out of the bad place.
- Better Place. You’ve lifted yourself up and not only that but now — thanks to what you discovered when you were down and out — you are better off than before!
Why this works
As with every really successful intangible, the Man in a Hole plot works through psychology. We and the story become one.
- There is tension and conflict from the moment things begin to go south. We want to see how things pan out and how obstacles are overcome. We cannot easily tear ourselves away until there is a resolution.
- We relate to the situation. We have all experienced setbacks in life. We identify with the protagonist's struggle and cheer them on.
- The emotional journey is clear. We don’t have to work too hard at identifying where things are going. Our mind doesn’t have to chew it over; every detail is entertainment and tastes good right to the end when we have a happy closure.
- The story highlights character growth. There is continued progress as the protagonist climbs out of the hole. The story is compelling and inspiring and doesn’t stagnate and become boring. It is what we want in our own lives.
But don’t take my word for it
Here is Kurt Vonnegut, possibly the most entertaining college lecturer ever, describing how good stories work.
“People love that story! They never get sick of it!” he tells us.
There’s a hint. Use this story structure and your audience will be listening with fevered ears, cheering you the narrator on as you lead them to glory.
You can have this for free, or better yet, send me a little reward using the affiliate links I’ve thoughtfully scattered here and there.
Examples
There are a million examples and more published every day. Let’s look to a few of the best-known:
- The Hobbit by J R R Tolkien. Bilbo Baggins is cruising along when there’s a knock on the door and his life turns to shreds. He is literally way down in a hole when he finds something, a golden ring. Such a little thing to slip onto a hobbit finger, but such power! He leads lords and princes to victory over evil and returns home to wealth and renown.
- Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. A little girl — just like the intended audience, nice touch — falls down a hole and has some extraordinary adventures before returning to normality, having learnt some valuable life lessons along the way. This story was so successful that Carroll published a sequel — Through the Looking-Glass — following much the same pattern. Neither book has ever been out of print in the century and a half following their initial publication.
- Finding Nemo by well, Disney. Things are going swimmingly for Marlin the clownfish and his growing family when disaster intervenes not once but twice and — spoiler alert — Marlin has to go find his fishnapped son Nemo. After some unbelievable but entertaining adventures, the two are reunited and perfection is found.
- The Lord of the Rings by J R R Tolkien. That little gold ring from The Hobbit? It’s actually pure peril as we find out when Gandalf the wizard knocks on the exact same door a generation later. Bilbo’s gone off adventuring and now it’s his nephew Frodo who has to run away from his comfortable existence, be pursued by horrid creatures and again — you guessed it — find himself at the bottom of a hole under an evil mountain. But here things get worse — spoiler alert! — Gandalf the know-it-all wise guide falls down an even darker and deeper hole and our hero goes through some truly epic adventures before everything gets better and Frodo winds up covered in glory.
How to make Man in a Hole work for you
It depends on your aim.
- To entertain. Go for it. Make the inciting disaster as dark and as deep as possible. Pile woe upon woe upon your hero. End each chapter with a cliffhanger. You'll have the audience on the edge of their seats waiting to find out what happens next. They will stay right to the end, no matter how ridiculous or implausible the journey may be. See the examples above. Stick your tongue in your cheek and let your creativity rip.
- To sell or inspire. Your product or philosophy must be a vital part of the climb out of the hole. Every challenge placed before your hero must be overcome through the virtues of your product. If some methodology is the solution you are pushing, make it the solution to every challenge. Indexed Files or Bullet Journaling or Speed Reading or Positive Thinking will save every day. Hammer home your sales pitch by entertaining the audience.
You’re in a hole right now?
Unless it’s a literal hole, then telling a story will enlist support or draw resources to your assistance.
We all love a story.
If you are short of money, go out in the town square, place your hat on the ground in front of you, put a handful of coins on top of a dollar bill in the hat, and tell a story. Your first few days might be pretty thin but you’ll learn what works and what doesn’t.
If you want to sell an idea to your colleagues, frame your idea as the solution to a problem. Make the disaster credible; a pandemic or an earthquake could be hard to swallow but a competitor moving in on your territory or an evil hacker stealing your files or a rise in the cost of a key ingredient are everyday occurrences.
If you are selling a product, same deal. You just discover you have bad breath — not even your best friends will tell you — and it’s a social disaster. People are avoiding you, especially the girl you want. Just use Moutholine and your breath will smell of roses. When you talk to her, dance with her, kiss her, she’ll be yours.
Whatever problem you have, storytelling can be a solution. You can attract and hold an audience, you can make them remember your message, you can press their psychological buttons, and you can have fun doing it.
Remember James Bond about to get his vitals eaten by atomic lasers?
He’s in a hole.
He’s in a deep hole.
The end of the film seems to be only seconds away.
What happens next?
He escapes — of course — and sets about saving the world, restoring order, and in the last scene getting the girl. All is well.
Get your hero down in a hole, get them out again, tie it up with a flourish and you are well on the way to your own happy ever after.
This is why the card gets a gold star
This is a storyteller tactic that works. Whether you are entertaining an audience or selling a solution to a problem, use the Man in a Hole structure to keep your listeners aiming their ears at you.
This card is just one of 54 in the Storyteller Tactics deck from the Pip Decks people. It links naturally to Simple Sales Story, a card I’ll look at soon. It’s also one of the steps in the Stories that Lead recipe, and I’ll show you how to use it to cook up a leadership meal with you as the chef.
Use my discount code BRITNIPEPPER to get 15% off. I get a few dollars in return. The bold links above are affiliates, same deal. Or just go to the website, no strings attached, look around, discover the system for yourself.
My review series is free. I explore the cards, the systems, the tactics, link to independent reviews, and even show you how to get every word, every diagram, every dot point on every card for free, without paying a cent, with the blessing of the firm.
I believe in these cards. They are the wisdom of storytellers, passed on from ages past. The tactics work. They are a secret guide in the palm of your hand, and while they are expensive, they come with a money-back guarantee.
Britni
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