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The Right Stories, The Right People, The Right Time

So last night we watched We Bought A Zoo. Yeah. That movie that came out 3 years ago. I just watched it. Last night. And I have to say, as ridiculous as it might sound, I don’t know that I have ever been so moved by a movie. Just…. Weeping, like a little baby in its crib as I watched this story play out on screen. The whole time I’m wondering why is this making me so emotional? How did they form this story to make me feel this way?

How do you make people feel something that real?

You take them to a place that’s familiar. A place that makes sense. That IS real. A place they weren’t expecting but yet, somehow, they know it so well. It’s where they remember things that haven’t happened yet. Places they haven’t yet been but they remember what it felt like to be there. It’s a place that doesn’t exist but they remember what it looks like, what it smells like, what it tastes like…. It’s where art lives. And so do we.

That’s what a good story does:

1. Takes us to a place that doesn’t exist.
2. That is familiar yet unexpected.
3.
Helps us remember what it was like to be there.

But that’s not all. Not only do you have to remind them of a place they’ve never been, you have to catch them at just the right time. They need to be ready for it or it will be lost. That’s why this movie about a family who buys a zoo got me, man! It happened at just the right time and connected with me in just the right way.

If we want people to connect with our art: We have to tell the right stories, to the right people, at the right time.
how to tell stories,

That’s the challenge of all of this. This making stuff for a living thing. We’re storytellers. We’re storytellers who make things that do not exist, that make people feel something real, just when they are ready to feel it. It will always be a challenge to do this but when it happens, when it all comes together, it truly is magic. Very real magic.

So what are you doing today to tell the right stories, to the right people, at the right time, with your work? That’s the question we have to ask today.

Happy Thursday, folks!

Chris

  • Bruce - Chris,

    Great post! I loved being moved by a movie, a piece of writing, music… you name it. For me, great storytelling has a big emotional element to it that makes me feel deeply.

    Each time I come across something hat moves me deeply, like you, I step back and ask, “How do they do that? How does this piece make me feel so intently?” I still don’t know how to do it, but I’d love to someday take my storytelling to that level.

    Thanks for sharing!ReplyCancel

    • Chris Creed - What a great habit to get in to! Thanks for sharing, Bruce and thanks for reading!ReplyCancel

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