This Is A Boring Shark Attack: 8 Rules for Fascinating Storytelling

March 16, 2018 11:34 AM

This Is A Boring Shark Attack: 8 Rules for Fascinating Storytelling
I've been doing standup and storytelling in NYC for ten years this month. Now I'm convinced that the big money comes from telling stories that are built out of jokes, but I'm still waiting for the data to come in.

This Is A Boring Shark Attack: 8 Rules for Fascinating Storytelling

I pulled together this essay of storytelling tips I've learned along the way - considering how much storytelling has caught on in advertising, entertainment, and just in people's hometowns, I thought this might be useful. And naturally, it wouldn't hurt my feelings at all if it turned into an FPP.

I'm not sure you can learn anything in comedy and storytelling unless you learn it the hard way, but this may empower you to make fresh mistakes that nobody thought to tell you about.

Role: Writer/Producer/Performer

posted by chinese_fashion (2 comments total)

This project was posted to MetaFilter by Anonymous on March 20, 2018: This Is A Boring Shark Attack

I love this! Oh my gosh this made me happy: "2. Start at the beginning of the story and end at the end...It’s tempting to start with something like 'June, 1998. There I was, my heel stuck in a sewer grate as the skies opened up. How did I get here? Flash back to yesterday when I was buying shoes …'" I love that you noted this - I watch the first 10 minutes of (almost) every new television show produced in America and a good 10%-20% do this for the pilot's opening sequence [2 minute action sequence!!!!!] then "2 months earlier" [someone brushing their teeth] Aaargh! It comes across as so lazy and manipulative.
posted by Uncle Glendinning at 2:29 PM on March 17, 2018 [1 favorite]

"We are lonely, exhausted, social creatures that are pre-programmed to connect with others and find ourselves in everything we see and hear. All anyone wants is to be heard and understood by a person that’s right there in the same room."

Dang. Ain't that the truth!
posted by instantidealism at 2:41 AM on May 2, 2018