SXSW 2018 Panel Proposal

1. Think like a songwriter to tell better stories.
Kathrine Becker
SXSW 2018 Panel Proposal

2. Like any design project,
writing a song is
one long decision-making process.

3. Outside of musical choices, songwriters make
decisions about these things, in (roughly) this order:
CRAFT COMPOSE DELIVER
Audience
Thesis
Conflict
Scope
Medium
Language
# of stories
Visuals
Pacing
Audience trust
Stage presence
Voice

4. At SXSW 2018, I want to teach audiences about
conflict selection and song types,
CRAFT COMPOSE DELIVER
Audience
Thesis
Scope
Medium
Language
# of stories
Visuals
Pacing
Audience trust
Stage presence
Voice
Conflict

5. Because CONFLICT represents the turning point
between exposition and story.
CRAFT COMPOSE DELIVER
Audience
Thesis
Scope
Medium
Language
# of stories
Visuals
Pacing
Audience trust
Stage presence
Voice
Conflict

6. Songwriters often rely on these song types to frame
their musical stories:
I am / I want Arc Banner Torch
Each song type has a specific purpose
and is framed around a specific central conflict.

8. Your job as a storyteller is to select the conflict which will
best frame your narrative and communicate your thesis.
A storyteller is a conflict-chooser…

9. …whether you’re writing a deck or a song.