The Elements of a Good Story

 

Helloo0O Ladies and Gentlemen!

Welcome back to another week at Graceland Ontario, your one stop to learn the success lessons Elvis Presley showed through out his lifetime. Today we’re moving onto our holiday series, starting with the holiday parade, a start to the holiday season, and how it shows the many parts all great work is made up of.

Now, it was hard thinking this one up. I could’ve talked about all the people it takes to make up a parade, like the number of people it takes to make up a show, and that no one does it all alone. But, hell, I’ve done that a couple times before (The Haunted House Special, Elvis’s Olympic Team) so I figured I’d try something different.

Well, when I started writing I got another idea. You see, Graceland Ontario’s been the baby of my recent writing endeavours. I’m working on a book at the moment and just the chapters in that are considerably larger than anything I’ve posted on this blog. And the more I work, the more I see the intricacies of a story, even if that be everyday life.

What I’m talking about are all those things you don’t usually think about until you’re doing it. It’s like something I read once in Robert Herjavic, the Canadian entrepreneur’s, book Driven, that many times he wouldn’t have dreamed taking up an entrepreneurial endeavour if he thought about all the work it would comprise.

The same thing works with the chapter of a fiction book − the way I do things, I think of the point of a chapter and how it will advance the plot of the book. Simple. That’ll take all of 200 words to explain, if not much less. How do you get an 100,000 word monster out of that? Simple. Add the detail. How did the character get there? Who did he talk to? What did he think? What did they think? How is this like his past experiences? Did he just walk past a tree? What did that tree look like?

A novel is a million different little acts and questions being answered to manifest a complete storyline. A balance of:

1. Knowing the major points of the story, and,

2. Adding the essential details, without rambling on

It works much the same way as a real life. Take for example the star of this blog, Elvis Presley. His life could be summed up in a page. Less. But it might read like this:

• Born poor.
• Rose to become a prominent singer.
• Became movie actor.
• Made singing comeback.
• Became biggest act in Vegas.
• Died, young, obese and divorced.

 

For a person who’d never heard of the King, they might ask quite a few questions. I mean, how did he move from the biggest act in Vegas to dead? There’re a lot of little details that make the whole picture up.

Now, let’s look at a parade. When you watch one, you’ll see lots of floats, bands, different costumes. And, of course, Ol’ Saint Nick pulls up the rear with his bride and beautiful carriage drawn by two stallions.

A good Christmas parade brings in the season so well because it’s well organized − it’s exciting. But when you recite it to people, you’ll probably say something like.

• Band started
•  Lots of floats.
•  More bands.
•  Crazy float with Spider-man on it.
•  Santa Claus.

 

Now, that’s not very exciting. It leaves a lot of questions to be asked, too. And if you were trying to sell a business man on how amazing it’d be for his company to sponsor a parade, he might not the wonder of it.

See what I’m saying?

Simply, the details are important. The main points will get the message across (which is what you want in a business pitch) but the details create the story. And people like reading/watching stories. We all have one. It’s how we tell it that makes the difference. Or the sale.

Some people are incredible (read Elvis). They have degrees and so many achievements that even the point version of their story can take up the back page of a book. But if it’s written out wrong, it won’t look like they’ve done anything in their life. On the other hand, someone who’s lived in a small town their whole existence can make their life exciting when they tell you about all the crazy things that happen in the local fall fair over fifty years.

What I’m talking about is the packaging. People’ll say they want only the facts. When they’re short on time, that’s true. But if something isn’t packaged nicely, nicely worded and explained, it doesn’t matter how good it is, no one’s going to take it.

That being said, make sure you do have points, that your work has substance. Then build round it. Something that’s packaged well but has nothing to it will get you a long way fast before it bankrupts you.

The parade, Elvis, they have significant points but with all the detail mixed in. Together, they are winning formulas to a good story, a story people will clamber to the curbs for every year in the winter months. A story people will stand outside in lines longer than the hedges in Central Park to get to Graceland every year in August. The story, the details and the points, make a tale people can’t help but want to hear.

And, man, you’re in a good place if people can’t help but want to pay you to hear your story.

 

Elvis’s Lessons:

A good story, or presentation, is made up of both the points and the details. The points provide the substance so you know you have something to work with. The details answer the questions and give the pitch humanity. Both parades and Elvis’s life use this principle. Both have their substance, the way things are planned out, the thirty second elevator pitch. But they also have the details to reinforce the presentation when questions are asked (and they always are). Keep both in mind, and neglect neither.

Thanks for reading along another week with my Christmas series - come back next week to see what's next!

P.S. If you'd like to see Elvis with some Christmas repertoire, here he is with "If I Get Home on Christmas Day".