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Ask HN: How do I learn how to tell a good story?

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Re: Ask HN: How do I learn how to tell a good story?

#21

Post by davibu »

First of all, you need a really "good" story. What is "good" depends on people, there is no general rule for that.

Make sure people are ready to listen, try to get their attention. Take a smile and try to make your voice deeper if you are a man, or adjust your pitch if you are a woman. If people seems not interested, don't be afraid and continue to talk anyway.

Talk louder if necessary (but not too much). Look at people in the eyes, and be confident.

Keep it short. Keep in mind that nobody cares about your life or your stories, they care about THEMSELVES.

Be always positive, even if something makes you angry or sad. There is nothing more annoying than listen to someone complaining.

Re: Ask HN: How do I learn how to tell a good story?

#22

Post by paulcole »

Practice and memory.

Tell yourself stories. When you like how you told it, remember and reuse phrases the next time you tell it to a group. When you tell it to a group, remember how they reacted and change how you tell it the next time.

Listen to other people tell stories and copy their mannerisms, word choice, and pace.

I run a lot and listen to podcasts/practice my own talks for work. I keep track of what’s working and what isn’t and keep adjusting and trying new things.

Remember that a lot of work goes into things that seem effortless.

Re: Ask HN: How do I learn how to tell a good story?

#23

Post by yesenadam »

q-base wrote: post #13

I have the exact same problem. Never been good at telling stories. I have two recommendations for books: - Story Craft - Jack Hart - Story: Substance, Structure, Style - Robert McKee The first one focuses on non-fiction the other on fiction. I was partway through the second one when I got the first. My immediate want is to be able to write better non-fiction text for my blog-posts etc. So I wanted a more focused book…

Thank you, I've started reading the Jack Hart, looks great. It's about narrative non-fiction, like in journalism or history. (My favourite book genre is essays - mostly non-narrative non-fiction.) I've loved Story for a long time, one of my favourite books. It's full of wisdom, but note that it focuses on writing, analysing and understanding movies–its full title is Story: Substance, structure, style and the principles of screenwriting.

Re: Ask HN: How do I learn how to tell a good story?

#24

Post by persia »

blockwriter wrote: post #4

I would be curious to know what the specific intention behind your storytelling is. All the same, advice on any specific stripe of storytelling is, as a rule, generalizable. That is kind of what makes stories stories. The first thing to do is to distill extraneous detail into clear forms. Taking a boat over an unending ocean will produce little more than ocean; but, if the water was to recede, it would gradually reve…

If you tell stories like you write it's gonna be a tough one. Maybe it's just me but I can't read walls of text without any line breaks.

Re: Ask HN: How do I learn how to tell a good story?

#25

Post by defluct »

I have no expertice in this, but; Watch stand-up comedy and observe. They are masters at pacing and story arcing. Observe how they bring the energy up and down. They start off with a premise that needs resolution, so that under the whole bit, the audience has the resolution on their mind, and much of the interest in the bit lies in the interest in the resolution. The resolution cannot be uncovered unless a new premise is brought forward or the story is finished.

Re: Ask HN: How do I learn how to tell a good story?

#26

Post by PGRdesign »

I have the same problem and found a book I'm enjoying so far: Everybody Writes - Ann Handley

Easy to read, has lots of examples, and gives lots of tips on how to make content engaging and write good stories.

Going to keep an eye on other users recommendations, since I'm also interested in learning more :)

Re: Ask HN: How do I learn how to tell a good story?

#27

Post by blockwriter »

persia wrote: post #24
blockwriter wrote: post #4

I would be curious to know what the specific intention behind your storytelling is. All the same, advice on any specific stripe of storytelling is, as a rule, generalizable. That is kind of what makes stories stories. The first thing to do is to distill extraneous detail into clear forms. Taking a boat over an unending ocean will produce little more than ocean; but, if the water was to recede, it would gradually reve…

If you tell stories like you write it's gonna be a tough one. Maybe it's just me but I can't read walls of text without any line breaks.

My return key is broken. Please donate.

Re: Ask HN: How do I learn how to tell a good story?

#28

Post by markus_zhang »

Sorry to hijack the post, but how do I learn to write for CRPG such as Neverwinter nights, Baldur's Gate or Pillar of Eternity? When making mods for Neverwinter nights, the biggest obstacle is to write proper dialogues and interesting stories.

Maybe (as a foreigner) I should get my grammar straight first? I do work in an English speaking country and use English everyday, but my writings (emails, posts on HN) always show amateurism in one way or another.

Re: Ask HN: How do I learn how to tell a good story?

#29

Post by avinassh »

PGRdesign wrote: post #26

I have the same problem and found a book I'm enjoying so far: Everybody Writes - Ann Handley Easy to read, has lots of examples, and gives lots of tips on how to make content engaging and write good stories. Going to keep an eye on other users recommendations, since I'm also interested in learning more :)

Thank you for recommending this, I started reading few pages and I love it! The book is very easy to read and understandable

Re: Ask HN: How do I learn how to tell a good story?

#30

Post by doopy1 »

Scarblac wrote: post #15
doopy1 wrote: post #2

Maybe try some books about creative writing? Try to write down your story and workshop it.

What does workshopping something mean?

It means joining a writer's group where you each read each other's work and provide critique on it. Even doing this a few times will give you a better grasp on what makes for better story telling.
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