A projected quote on a wall at an exhibit from Margaret Atwood: “In the end, we’ll all become stores.”

Another projected quote on a wall at an exhibit, this one from Muriel Rukeyser: “a the universe is made of stories, not of atoms.”

It is not enough to rail against injustice, we also need stories to remind us what kind of world we are fighting for.

If you’re also feeling overwhelmed, wishing there was more that you can do, remember that your #smallchoices matter and that simply telling #betterstories sustains hope for us all.

Tell better stories.
Not just collapse and catastrophe. Share stories of patience, restraint, recovery, and care, not because they’re easy, but because they’re true.
#OceanHoptimism #BetterStories #HopeIsADiscipline

Inkican - Why You Pay Writers – Harlan Ellison Exploring New Worlds | Opening New Minds Inkican.com is the online home of science fiction author Jackson Allen, a supportive community for creative minds.

Provokative and compelling - empathetic and authentic - www.inkican.com #inspiration #stories #storyteller #BetterStories #CultureInspiration

Inkican - Solarpunk Smells Like Onions Exploring New Worlds | Opening New Minds Inkican.com is the online home of science fiction author Jackson Allen, a supportive community for creative minds.

Provokative and compelling - empathetic and authentic - www.inkican.com #inspiration #stories #storyteller #BetterStories #CultureInspiration

Inkican - Author Journey: Housekeeping and House Building Exploring New Worlds | Opening New Minds Inkican.com is the online home of science fiction author Jackson Allen, a supportive community for creative minds.

Provokative and compelling - empathetic and authentic - www.inkican.com #inspiration #stories #storyteller #BetterStories #CultureInspiration

Inkican - Infinite Realms and Boundless Imagination - Scifi by Jackson Allen Infinite Realms and Boundless Imagination - Scifi by Jackson Allen

Provokative and compelling - empathetic and authentic - www.inkican.com #inspiration #stories #storyteller #BetterStories #CultureInspiration

Inkican - Infinite Realms and Boundless Imagination - Scifi by Jackson Allen Infinite Realms and Boundless Imagination - Scifi by Jackson Allen

Provokative and compelling - empathetic and authentic - www.inkican.com #inspiration #stories #storyteller #BetterStories #CultureInspiration

Persuasion isn't always a dirty word - when used for good it's just another word for "inspiring." #MediaEthics #BetterStories #CultureInspiration

#ThatIs #SWEET.

#Just because #ihave2: #follow #BTN25, a #mockumentary about #BetterStories to #BASH #fasc25.

#theSun, #theMoon & #theStars #must #believe #This, #orr #BLeaf #anything, #JustKnot, #repeat #NOT #fascists. #cryptofasists, & #libertarians #TheyAre #OutThere & They ARE #everywhere!!!

Original post on mastodon.online

Do you want to create a story collaboratively with other Mastodon readers?

We're done with the theory in #BetterStories. Let's move to the practice!

The first thing we will do is to define time and space.

When I played this game with friends this summer I made them throw the dice to know in […]

Original post on mastodon.online

Show, don't tell

Day 21 of #BetterStories Advice from Stephen King from his memoir "On Writing":

I never tried to come right out and say: “Annie was depressed ad possibly suicidal that day”. Or “Annie seemed particularly happy that day”

If I have to tell you, I lose. If, on the other hand, I […]

Original post on mastodon.online

Let's turn to science on Day 20 of #BetterStories

In "Narrative reversals and story success" Knight et al. (2024) find that stories with more‚ and more dramatic turning points, are more successful

Every moment in a good story should either be a new “turn”, or pile up in the current direction […]

Original post on mastodon.online

We stay with Vaughan's Story and Plot, day 19 #BetterStories

How to write scenes? Vaughan: "Something is true at the end of the scene that wasn’t true at the beginning. Something is different"

This gives meaning to the action. A character, reacting to the changes, will do something that will […]

Original post on mastodon.online

Day 18 of #BetterStories - The internal rhythm of the story

Advice from the site https://storyandplot.com/ run by Tom Vaughan

- A story is divided in acts
- Acts are divided in sequence
- Sequences are made up of scenes
- Scenes are made of beats

Vaughan, a professional screenplay writer […]

Original post on mastodon.online

Goldilocks enters the house where THREE bears live, and she tries THREE things inside (food, chairs, and beds). This might be the classic story that more clearly uses the "rule of three"

This is day 17 of #BetterStories

We'll see plenty of examples

How can you use the rule of 3? When you […]

Original post on mastodon.online

Do you know Augusto Monterroso? He's credited with having written the shortest story ever

"When they woke up, the dinosaur was still there"

9 words, a window to another world, which our brains fill up

Well, it turns out there's a whole GENRE of even shorter stories!

6-word stories, they can […]

Original post on mastodon.online

We are passing mid-way of the #BetterStories (it's day 15). Now, let's look at individual tips to improve the story.

Leave the kiss until the end.

Malcom Gladwell: "A love story is over the minute the protagonists kiss". If they end up together earlier on, we lose interest. The story is done […]

Original post on mastodon.online

#BetterStories (cont)

Day 8: Opening the story, from The Science of Storytelling
https://mastodon.online/@rafa_font/113969973042856733

Day 9: The Call
https://mastodon.online/@rafa_font/113974487809584089

Day 10: The universal plot is growing up - The hero-ine's transformation - What the […]

Original post on mastodon.online

#BetterStories is a Mastodon-exclusive crash-course on Storytelling.

Here's the full series:

Intro: https://mastodon.online/@rafa_font/113922425276404013

Day 1: Why do we tell stories?
https://mastodon.online/@rafa_font/113927691913912033

Day 2: Structure and plot […]

Original post on mastodon.online

We're halfway through the Mastodon exclusive crash-course on #storytelling

We have done:
- Week 1: story structure.
- Week 2: defining the characters.

And now we start:
- Week 3 : tips to write and narrate stories.
- Week 4 : playing a game - we will write a story collectively.

Follow […]

Original post on mastodon.online

Day 13 (out of 28) of #BetterStories takes us through the dark secondary characters.

The dark figures are there to confront the hero-ine, to clash with them, to force them to improve, so that the hero-ine eventually defeats the dark forces.

The archetypes are parallel to the light forces […]

Original post on mastodon.online

Day 12 of #BetterStories is about secondary characters

We'll divide them in two: those that help the hero-ine (the light ones), and those that go against them (the dark ones).

If you want to introduce light secondaries in your story, what are the archetypal rules?

They can appear at critical […]

Original post on mastodon.online

Why tell stories?

"they are memorable – therefore a good teaching technique"

"they allow us to imagine ourselves as the hero"

"By listening to stories, we learn how to navigate life’s challenges"

"storytelling doesn’t just help the listener—it profoundly benefits the storyteller" […]

Original post on mastodon.online

How do we define the hero-ine in our story?

Welcome to Day 11 of #BetterStories. In this crash-course on #Storytelling we spend the whole month discussing story and plot. Only on Mastodon!

The universal plot is "growing up". If your hero-ine doesn't grow, the story is not resolved.

Every […]

Original post on mastodon.online

What are all stories about? What is the universal plot?

Think about this basic story: a little girl who went up the mountain. Then she got down. Wasn't she different when she returned? Had the mountain not changed her? Had she not see something special up there?

The universal plot is about […]

Original post on mastodon.online

It's not easy to accept the call. That's why, if you do it, you are called heroine or hero.

This is Day 9 of #BetterStories (follow the hashtag for all the content!)

The Science of Storytelling says that stories have an "ignition point". It is "the first event in a cause-and-effect sequence […]

Original post on mastodon.online

This is day 8 of #BetterStories, a Mastodon crash course on #Storytelling

Let's work on openings

Ever heard: "open with a blast!"? Let's try something different: open with "a change"

A change, or a hint that something will change, captures our attention

Kafka's Metamorphosis does it in the […]

Original post on mastodon.online

Day 7 of #BetterStories. We're at the end of the block on "structure".

We have seen the Seven Basic Plots and how they help narrate the story. But, how can you move away from it, and still benefit from the structure?

We'll see now how to make the structure fail, and how to do it […]

Original post on mastodon.online

Day 6 of #BetterStories

The plots so far could be "western"

In "eastern" story structure, we find something different. For example: Ki-sho-ten-ketsu

Ki - Introduction to the characters, community, and time

Shō - Development of the story, more elements added

Ten - Twist, change, an […]

Close-up of writer Stephen King. A man in his 60s, grey-white hair, and glasses, dressing smart

Day 5 of #BetterStories starts with Stephen King memoir "On Writing". He says, about story:

"Stories consist of three parts: narration, description, and dialogue. You may wonder where plot is in all this. My answer is nowhere."

"I distrust plot. Our lives […]

[Original post on mastodon.online]