Quantum Storytelling

I love studying structure because…

Structures of which we are unaware hold us prisoner. Conversely, learning to see the structures within which we operate begins a process of freeing ourselves from previously unseen forces and ultimately mastering the ability to work with them and change them.

-The Fifth Discipline by Peter M. Senge

I found this in an organization/management book, but this universally applies to everything, including storytelling.

From Techniques of the Selling Writer by Dwight V. Swain;

“A hook is a device for catching, holding, sustaining, or pulling anything — in this case, a reader.”

Every story needs a high concept hook. Every sequence, every scene, and every sentence needs a hook.

I watched Raiders of the Lost Ark again, in anticipation of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. It’s remarkable how many things Lucas & Spielberg did right in crafting their iconic hero. The whip and the fedora, the fedora which especially works well and the exploit a lot through the use of silhouette and shadows on the wall in various scenes. But those are physical/appearance characteristics, while important, do not necessarily reveal tics of character.

“I hate snakes.” You know what I’m talking about. This one simple line, and littering the first movie with snakes that Indy can react to, gives the audience a quality they can identify with and latch onto in the hero.

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