All Storytelling Comes Down to THIS One thing

I’m gonna go on a little storytelling rant here.

I used to think that storytelling was this abstract concept that I couldn’t grasp.

Spoiler: It doesn’t have to be.

For a good chunk of time, I always told myself “I have to get better at storytelling. I have to tell better stories. Stories are king.”

And I ended up shying away from working the muscle of telling stories.

But it was only when I heard this quote from Aaron Sorkin that completely changed the way that I think about storytelling.

He said:

Which number 1, “I worship at the altar of X and Y” is a beautiful way to phrase anything that you’re obsessed with.

And number 2, this quote simplifies storytelling to its basic parts, and clarified to me the 80/20 of a great story.

The only 2 components of a great story are the “wants” of the main character (intention) and what’s stopping the main character from achieving their goals (obstacles).

And the greater the intention, the higher the stakes, making us more invested.

And the bigger the obstacle, the greater the factor of “Will he make it” be.

Tension rises.

My favourite part about this quote is that just by shifting these 2 variables, you can drastically change the audience’s relationship with the main character.

If the intention of the main character is larger than life (I want to save the universe from being destroyed), you can take the viewer on a journey of escapism.

But you could also make the intention of the main character to be something relatable (I want to impress my mum with a homemade meal), and the viewer can place themselves in the shoes of the protagonist.

Most times, we think of storytelling to be this concept with 50 moving parts at once, and that we have to dial in each of them to have the perfect piece of writing.

In reality, when you boil it down to its most basic parts, suddenly it doesn’t become so intimidating.

Hope this helps in your next YouTube script,

Bryan

P.S. If you have a story video script you want me to review, send it to this email and I’ll give it a full review.