“A story is kind of a black box and you’re going to put the reader in there. She’s going to spend some time with this thing you’ve made and when she comes out, what’s going to have happened to her in there is something kind of astonishing. It feels like the curtain’s been pulled back and she’s gotten a glimpse into a deeper truth. As a story writer, that’s not as easy as it sounds.”
It’s possible there’s no more valuable skill than the ability to tell a good story. That’s why this Open Culture post is a must-read.
It’s a collection of six videos that feature talented storytellers explaining what it takes to tell a good story. The advice comes from people like author George Saunders, Finding Nemo filmmaker Andrew Stanton, This American Life creator Ira Glass, and more.