The document discusses the fundamental elements of storytelling, emphasizing the importance of conflict, lack, and journey in narratives, particularly through examples from the Star Wars trilogy. It highlights that stories profoundly impact human experiences, and effective storytelling involves both dramatic structure and the manipulation of information and time. The analysis points to the universal patterns found in stories that engage audiences, showcasing the characters' transformational journeys amidst the tension of competing desires.

2. lack
object
of value conflict
dramatic
structure
informationtime
the basics you need to know before diving into storytelling world

3. with examples and references from original STAR WARS trilogy

4. with examples and references from original STAR WARS trilogy

5. everyone is looking for a universal formula to
storytelling (and storytelling success of course)
forgetting one simple truth – in humanitarian
sciences stories and narratives have been analyzed
for a really long time yielding interesting and
enlightening results
…
STORY
FUNDAMENTALS
…

6. everyone is looking for a universal formula to
storytelling (and success of course) forgetting one
simple truth – in humanitarian sciences stories and
narratives have been analyzed for a really long time
yielding interesting and enlightening results
…
STORY
FUNDAMENTALS
…
narratology, cultural studies, semiotics have been
constructing theories and analytic frameworks
around stories – it’s really worth taking the most
common and simple findings as a starting point to
gain a basic and yet fundamental understanding to
what a story really is*
* - everything that follows are watered-down narratological and semiotic concepts

7. WHY SO IMPORTANT?
stories and storytelling have been around for as long as our
cultural memory extends and only in the recent years we start
to accept it’s ubiquitous presence in everything we do

8. stories have a tremendous impact on us
it is paradoxical, but stories that we don’t believe
in, i. e. fiction, are the ones that changes us and
the world the most.

9. stories have a tremendous impact on us
it is paradoxical, but stories that we don’t believe
in, i. e. fiction, are the ones that changes us and
the world the most.
we experience stories
we react to stories the same way we do to first-hand
experiences – we have a unique capacity to learn from
stories and an even more fascinating ability to organize
knowledge as stories

10. the starting point for our journey through
fundamental storytelling concepts is the
human condition itself

11. picture reference: http://lang-8.com/537367/journals/202731510706269955316594453798102835813
even the smallest and the most disposable
objects can have a story behind them –
story that tells you something about the
culture and cultural differences

12. this is the Japanese toothpick
with a top that can be easily
detached to A) show that the
pick has been used B) to create
a platform for delicately putting
down the toothpick

13. this is the Japanese toothpick
with a top that can be easily
detached to A) show that the
pick has been used B) to create
a platform for delicately putting
down the toothpick
and such a small thing as a
toothpick allows us to open up a
story about cultural views and
attitudes towards disposable
objects or objects in general

14. SIGNIFICANT OBJECTS
FLANNEL BALL STORY
http://significantobjects.com/

15. After my friend Claude had his accident I went to visit him in the
hospital. When I saw him I had to cough to divert a laugh. He looked
like a guy in a cartoon, his entire body wrapped in bandages. He had
broken everything that could be broken, from his skull to his toes.
Somehow he was conscious and could speak, although to hear him I
had to put my ear right up to his mouth-hole. I thought he said “door,”
so I shut it, but he was still agitated.
Eventually I got it: “drawer.” The one in his bedside stand contained a
single object, a ball of wrapped flannel that looked like his head, only
more colorful. I went to pick it up with my fingertips, but then had to
readjust. Astonishingly, the thing weighed at least five pounds. I gaped
at it, but Claude was making noises. I finally understood: “Don’t unwrap
it.” <...>
EXTRACT FROM FLANNEL BALL STORY

16. the best storytelling platform in the world. period
PROJECT OF THE DAY ON 2015 07 23
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mattbors/eat-more-comics-the-best-of-the-nib?ref=home_potd

17. the best storytelling platform in the world. period
this is the one place to learn which stories succeed and which don’t

18. lack conflict
dramatic
structure
informationtime
we start with the essential driver behind any story worth telling

19. LACK
is what defines the human nature – we constantly
move, change places and roles, just because we feel a
certain lack or craving, which at the moment of
fulfillment is substituted with something else

20. equilibrium disrupted
equilibrium
journey
restored
equilibrium
stories work in a strange way – it doesn’t matter where the narration
starts (at the beginning, in the middle or at the end), one action or
phase always presuppose something that comes before and
something that will follow.

21. equilibrium disrupted
equilibrium
journey
restored
equilibrium
stories work in a strange way – it doesn’t matter where the narration
starts (at the beginning, in the middle or at the end), one action or
phase always presuppose something that comes before and
something that will follow.
and if we accept that lack of something is a predetermined feature of
a stories DNR, then we have to admit that there are four stages to it:
being satisfied without the feeling of lack, being deprived or
introduced to a new object of desire, putting effort to reach it and
dealing with the acquisition or the failure

22. equilibrium
disrupted
equilibrium
journey
restored
equilibrium
usually the presupposed state in the story is a state of equilibrium
where something is in balance and things are just the way they’re
supposed to be.

23. LUKE SKYWALKER
lives peacefully with his uncle and aunt and
works as a moisture farmer (whatever that
is)

25. equilibrium
disrupted
equilibrium
journey
restored
equilibrium
this is where the story really starts – with the disruption of the status
quo, with the setting out to do the quest. Somebody is called out to
act. The reasons for it might be numerous – both internal (personal
will) and external (intimidation, necessity)

26. THE MESSAGE
LUKE triggers the message from Leia
requesting help from Kenobi

27. THE TRUTH
LUKE talks to Kenobi, who tells him all
about Dark Force, Jedi Knights, light sabers
and his father.

29. equilibrium
disrupted
equilibrium
journey
restored
equilibrium
a journey should be understood as a transformation – it can be a
physical one (going from point A to point B) or it can be inner one
(changing from state A to state B)

30. THE JOURNEY
LUKE sets out on a journey, because you
can’t become a JEDI, if you stay at home,
can you?

32. the most essential thing about story is the
journey - there is no destination without a
journey as there is no answer without a
question
JOURNEY
…

33. transformation brings change and without
change there is no story
TRANSFORMATION
…

34. THE TRANSFORMATION
the LUKE that we see at the end of the movie is not
the same as the one that beginning of his journey

35. equilibrium
disrupted
equilibrium
journey
restored
equilibrium
…and so there are stories that make us feel good and restore the
disrupted equilibrium and there are those who show impossibility of
such return to an innocent state

36. THE RESTORED STATE
at the end of the original Star Wars trilogy everyone is
enjoying a wild orgy-party in the wilderness. That’s
some celebration.

38. stories rarely move in one
direction – they develop both
ways, at the same time as
actions unfold we are
constantly learning about the
past as well – every journey
presupposes both a
destination and a reason
STORIES FORWARDS AND
BACKWARS
…
…

39. lack
object
of value conflict
dramatic
structure
informationtime
the concept of lack is directly related to the concept of object of value –
something we pursue in our journey

40. OBJECT OF VALUE
a certain thing we want to attain or achieve – that’s the object
of value. The value part is about something that we want the
object for. And usually we do not want the objects
themselves, but something they provide us with or
something they represent

41. lack always has an object
and for different subjects within
the story the same object can
hold different value, which
means that even if we are after
the same thing, most probably
we are not

42. THE NEED ARISES
in one day LUKE learns that his father has
been killed by the Evil Empire, his uncle and
aunt gunned down by storm-troopers and
the entire galaxy almost taken over by the
evil emperor.

43. but what drives stories and make them exciting is not the fact
that we try to achieve a certain object with particular value
investments, but the fact that the same object holds value to
somebody else as well
…
…

44. and this leads to
conflict

45. lack
object
of value conflict
dramatic
structure
informationtime
stories are nothing more than a series of disrupted equilibriums when one
character robs another of its object of value thus setting a never-ending
number of journeys to restore the balance

46. CONFLICT
conflict is the driving force behind a story – it is the possibility
that the object of value that we are pursuing can be obtained
by others. It also reflects the eternal imbalance in the world:
with someone having something, it can not belong to others.
And thus, starts the CONFLICT.

47. what is desirable in life is not something
that is desired in fiction
THE (UN)ORDINARY
…
nobody is interested in experiencing the expected everyday
outcomes in simple situations filled with calm certainty
…

48. INNER VS OUTER
what the conflict brings to the story is the
uncertainty of outcomes. It is what thrills
us and allows us to get lost in the story.

49. THE CONFLICT
the STAR WARS are about the eternal
struggle between the DARK and the LIGHT
side of the force
THE DARK VS THE LIGHT SIDE

50. THE CONFLICT
THE EMPIRE VS THE REBELS
it is also about the more immediate struggle
between the rebels and the empire which in
its own turn represents struggle between
dictatorship and democracy

51. THE CONFLICT
FATHER VS SON
and on a most personal level it is a family
reconciliation drama and it’s a story of
choosing a path

52. COMPETITION
is all about two subjects trying to prove which
one possesses the right competences to
acquire the object of value. Most of the stories
can be translated as a sequences of
obtaining/perfecting/proving competence
…
…

53. lack
object
of value conflict
dramatic
structure
informationtime
the conflict becomes a much more engaging endeavor when it follows a
particular dramatic pattern

54. DRAMATIC
STRUCTURE
conflict is what makes the story exciting, but it alone doesn’t
explain why we stick with some stories for as long as they
last. And there’s a repetitive pattern that can be found in
stories as ancient as the ancient epic poems (take Beowulf as
an example) that remains unaltered up to these days.

55. DRAMATIC STRUCTURE
1
2
3
4
this particular dramatic structure
is the most frequently employed
in stories (from blockbusters to
biographies or even academic
papers)

56. DRAMATIC STRUCTURE
1
2
3
4
the need for at least two
dramatic arcs within a
narrative can by explained
by universal structure of
tests that the hero has to
go through to prove that
he/she is a real hero

57. 1
2
3
4
CHALLENGES OR TESTS:
QUALIFYING
DECISIVE
GLORYFYING
the hero has to qualify for his role or gain the necessary
skill/competences to obtain the object of value,
the hero has to overcome the main obstacle
the hero has to be recognized for his achievement
both ancient and modern narratives follow the same logic – the consecutive tests that
the hero goes through provide the chance to have a narrative twist (as in why does the
action film hero has to be captured in every single movie)

58. LOSE* - as in fails to lift the spaceship out of the water

59. WIN* - as in manages to knock Vader down

60. LOSE* - as in lose your hand type of lose

61. WIN* - as in this time I manage to cut off my father’s hand

62. LOSE* - as in the Emperor is a bigger badass

63. WIN* - as in Vader throwing down the EMPEROR

64. what the conflict brings to the story is the
uncertainty of outcomes. It is what thrills
us and allows us to get lost in the story.
UNCERTAINTY
…
in other words, the hero needs to repetitively prove that he’s the
hero

65. lack
object
of value conflict
dramatic
structure
informationtime
the feeling of uncertainty is further reinforced due to the way the storyteller
handles information in his/her story

66. INFORMATION
the delivery of information is what manipulates our
feeling of certainty/uncertainty, the expected and
the unexpected

67. stories are not about telling something,
but more about hiding something up until
the time when it’s right to reveal it
TELLING OR HIDING
…

68. expose hide
reveal interfere
storyteller might use
different strategies for
distributing information
to the listener/viewer

69. expose hide
reveal interfere
storyteller might use
different strategies for
distributing information
to the listener/viewer
the storyteller directly reveals information
to the listeners/viewers
the storyteller provides the missing pieces
of the puzzle, that still require active
participation form the listener/viewer
the storyteller doesn’t reveal or hint at the
presence of information
the storyteller hints at the presence of
information, but doesn’t allow to fully
comprehend it

70. what makes the
difference is not what
we say, but what we
don’t ...

71. THE MAN BEHIND THE MASK?
the mystery of Darth Vader is hidden in plain sight – we only
discover who he truly is only at the very end of the original saga

72. “LUKE, I’M YOUR FATHER”
the real drama of Star Wars trilogy lies within the fact that Obi
told Luke that his father was killed by Vader, when in fact Vader
is Luke’s father. And of course Vader finds the perfect moment
to reveal this to Luke just after severing his hand in battle
MOMENT

73. lack
object
of value conflict
dramatic
structure
informationtime
a more specific form of manipulation with information on the part of the
storyteller is the manipulation of time

74. TIME
so storyteller primarily works with time – by
stretching and expanding it, working with actions
sequences, postponing and rushing ahead

75. extended time
condensed time
the storyteller works with time: the
time can be expanded when one
moment takes forever and it can
be condensed when a single
sentence covers a decade

76. extended time
future
condensed time
past
the storyteller works with time: the
time can be expanded when one
moment takes forever and it can
be condensed when a single
sentence covers a decade
the storyteller also works with the
sequence of events – most of the
stories we experience aren‘t linear

77. THE NARRATIVE BEING TOLD
A
B
C
D
E
F
B
F
E
C
D
STORYLINE
(most often) from the very moment the storyteller starts telling his story, the
linearity of the story breaks down and the chronological sequence gets
distorted

78. WHEN SAYING GOODBEYE
TAKES AS LONG AS THE WHOLE
JEDI TRAINING

79. stories rarely move in one
direction – they develop both
ways, at the same time as
actions unfold we are
constantly learning about the
past as well
ATEMPORAL
…
…

80. we are not interested in
hearing linear stories (things
like chronological histories).
This is due to the time
constrains – the story told
can not be as long as the
actual recounted events.
Human ingenuity finds way
of how to condense a story in
a more compact format.
Story is a condensation of
meaning.
CONDENSED
…
…

81. lack
object
of value conflict
dramatic
structure
informationtime
these are the essential building blocks of the story – let’s dive further

82. STORY AND
PRESENTATION
CHECKLIST

83. Show what the promised
land looks like
ESTABLISH YOUR
OBJECT OF VALUE

84. Have your own empire,
dragon or terminator to
take down
DEFINE THE CONFLICT

85. Describe how to get to
the promised land
DEFINE THE JOURNEY

86. STORY AND
PRESENTATION
CHECKLIST
Have your own empire, dragon or terminator to take down
DEFINE CONFLICT
Show what the promised land looks like
ESTABLISH YOUR OBJECT OF VALUE
Describe how to get to the promised land
DEFINE THE JOURNEY

87. Have your own “Luke I
am your father”
moment
MANAGE INFORMATION

88. Defeat the small guy,
then fight the big one
MANAGE TENSION

89. Take as much time
as you need
MANAGE THE
PACE OF THE
STORY

90. STORY AND
PRESENTATION
CHECKLIST
Defeat the small guy, then fight the big one
Have your own “Luke I am your father” moment
Have your own empire, dragon or terminator to take down
MANAGE TENSION
MANAGE INFORMATION
DEFINE CONFLICT
Show what the promised land looks like
ESTABLISH YOUR OBJECT OF VALUE
Describe how to get to the promised land
DEFINE THE JOURNEY
Take as much time as you need
MANAGE THE PACE OF THE STORY