#betterstories — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #betterstories, aggregated by home.social.
-
Light will prevail in the collaborative story #BetterStories
We have arrived at the end of the Mastodon-exclusive #storytelling course. Today it's day 28. During the whole month of February you have seen tips on plot, structure, character definition and many more.
NOW LET'S WRITE
Let's aim for 2-3 pages, untangling the web we just created poll after poll.
Who is the first to give it a go? Enter this page and look for the "WRITE HERE" cues, and... write there!
-
In our collaborative story in #BetterStories we have the type of plot, the time when the story takes place, the size of the community affected, the geographical setup, how we want the hero-ine to grow, which light and dark secondaries we want in.
Now, day 27, let's look at the ending.
Across the action, our protagonist will:
- Confront the dark forces, growing in the process, evolving in their weaknesses
- Get help from the light forces, learning from their mistakes
- Save the day
(cont.) -
This is day 26 of #BetterStories and we have just decided how the protagonist of our collaborative story is like.
Now, let's look into the light secondaries. See Day 12 for the theory about light secondaries.
https://mastodon.online/@rafa_font/113989855381452868
We'll take the two top results. Vote here!
-
So according to (my interpretation of) the results, we don't care about strength nor lack of it, but the hero-ine is very disorganised. They are aware of the others' feelings but they fail to label their own.
We're writing a collaborative story in #BetterStories
This means that, throughout this Quest, the hero-ine will find a way to know better how they feel and also a way to get their life in order. While going on a trip that will solve some issue that the mountain village where they live has
-
Can they identify what they're felling? Say "I'm happy" when they are, or "I'm sad"?
Finally, what is their stance towards the others? Can they understand what the others are going through?
Remember, their weaknesses are what will drive the story
See you tomorrow!
#BetterStories -
So, how's (physically and mentally) our hero-ine?
And, what about their mindset? Do they have their ideas in order?
The story will make the hero-ine grow their weaknesses. #BetterStories
-
How should the main character be? Day 25 of #BetterStories, we're writing a story all together.
Let's apply the toots from Day11 and Day12.
https://mastodon.online/@rafa_font/113984116952844149
https://mastodon.online/@rafa_font/113989855381452868
Let's vote on the hero-ine characteristics, one by one. The point is to find 2 aspects in which the protagonist is in need of growth.
If we were to grow the protagonist only in 1 axis, it would be too simple. If we were to grow them in all 4, it would take 3 volumes to do so.
-
So this is how our collaborative story starts
====
It's around 23:00. We must be crossing the German border now. I'm on the European Sleeper night train service from Brussels to Berlin, going there to spend a long weekend with some friends.Keep on reading here:
https://notepadr.com/p/BetterStories_by_Mastodon_users
====Let's keep on defining our story. #BetterStories
-
Our collaborative story is going to be a quest! (in a small village in the mountains in a dystopian 2225).
Day 24 #BetterStories- We now decide to whom we tell our story
This is advice from Tom Vaughan, Story and Plot https://storyandplot.com/
"You are not trying to please everyone. You are writing to one single individual, and your relationship is with them"
To whom are we writing?
Suggestions: -
We need two votes to decide this as there's a limit of 4 options per poll.
This is day 23 of #BetterStories and we're deciding together the plot of the story we're going to write.
You can vote as many options as you like in both polls
-
The votes are in! The collaborative story will take place in the year 2225, in a small village in the countryside or in the mountains. Now let's keep on adding details. #BetterStories
-
Hi friends! You have interacted with #BetterStories across the 3 weeks we have been running it. Would you like to participate in the collaborative writing of the story? See the thread!
@alvizlo
@isblagi
@peterbrown
@SylviaFysica
@JProl
@ellibrero33
@triptych
@dahie
@aserramonner
@Rui_Sequeira
@blogwerk
@YouSweet42
@debby
@nemobis
@osfa_2030
@troublewithwords
@Binder
@candy_mountain
@oa
@ocana
@antondelatorre
@WanderFool
@indegsal
@kudashevs
@loowiz
@islomarLooking forward to your input!
-
Do you want to create a story collaboratively with other Mastodon readers?
We're done with the theory in #BetterStories. Let's move to the practice!
The first thing we will do is to define time and space.
When I played this game with friends this summer I made them throw the dice to know in which time they HAD to write their story. You can throw the dice too, or just vote here...
-
Show, don't tell
Day 21 of #BetterStories Advice from Stephen King from his memoir "On Writing":
I never tried to come right out and say: “Annie was depressed ad possibly suicidal that day”. Or “Annie seemed particularly happy that day”
If I have to tell you, I lose. If, on the other hand, I can show you a silent, dirty-aired woman who compulsively gobbles cake and candy, then have you draw the conclusion that Annie is in the depressive part of a manic-depressive cycle, I win
-
Let's turn to science on Day 20 of #BetterStories
In "Narrative reversals and story success" Knight et al. (2024) find that stories with more‚ and more dramatic turning points, are more successful
Every moment in a good story should either be a new “turn”, or pile up in the current direction, increasing the magnitude of the reversal to come
They collected 30k movies, TV shows, and novels, detected the trends in the story, and captured the reversals.
-
We stay with Vaughan's Story and Plot, day 19 #BetterStories
How to write scenes? Vaughan: "Something is true at the end of the scene that wasn’t true at the beginning. Something is different"
This gives meaning to the action. A character, reacting to the changes, will do something that will affect both the story and themselves
Onward, 1st scene of this clip: the police is catching up on them. Barley sacrifices his van to block their way
-
Day 18 of #BetterStories - The internal rhythm of the story
Advice from the site https://storyandplot.com/ run by Tom Vaughan
- A story is divided in acts
- Acts are divided in sequence
- Sequences are made up of scenes
- Scenes are made of beatsVaughan, a professional screenplay writer, suggests not rush through the scenes, let them do their job.
❓ What's the job of a scene?
▶️ To have an event or an emotion that creates the next scene, while being compelling in its own right
-
Goldilocks enters the house where THREE bears live, and she tries THREE things inside (food, chairs, and beds). This might be the classic story that more clearly uses the "rule of three"
This is day 17 of #BetterStories
We'll see plenty of examples
How can you use the rule of 3? When you want to give rhythm to the story
Don't use fewer, because they wouldn't be enough to develop the situation. Don't use more, because three are sufficient and more don't really add anything new
-
Do you know Augusto Monterroso? He's credited with having written the shortest story ever
"When they woke up, the dinosaur was still there"
9 words, a window to another world, which our brains fill up
Well, it turns out there's a whole GENRE of even shorter stories!
6-word stories, they can bring a lot of drama:
"For sale: baby shoes, never worn"Is there any plot in this? Up for debate
Another one:
"Strangers. Friends. Best friends. Lovers. Strangers"
-
We are passing mid-way of the #BetterStories (it's day 15). Now, let's look at individual tips to improve the story.
Leave the kiss until the end.
Malcom Gladwell: "A love story is over the minute the protagonists kiss". If they end up together earlier on, we lose interest. The story is done.
That's WHY so many movies end with a kiss, and why so many of the couples about to kiss early in the movie are interrupted: to get us hooked on the tension between the protagonists.
-
#BetterStories (cont)
Day 8: Opening the story, from The Science of Storytelling
https://mastodon.online/@rafa_font/113969973042856733Day 9: The Call
https://mastodon.online/@rafa_font/113974487809584089Day 10: The universal plot is growing up - The hero-ine's transformation - What the hero-ine wants
https://mastodon.online/@rafa_font/113980192489711339Day 11: Defining the hero-ine
https://mastodon.online/@rafa_font/113984116952844149Day 12: Light Secondary characters
https://mastodon.online/@rafa_font/113989855381452868Day 13: Dark Secondary characters
https://mastodon.online/@rafa_font/113995401988211753TO BE CONTINUED
-
#BetterStories is a Mastodon-exclusive crash-course on Storytelling.
Here's the full series:
Intro: https://mastodon.online/@rafa_font/113922425276404013
Day 1: Why do we tell stories?
https://mastodon.online/@rafa_font/113927691913912033Day 2: Structure and plot
https://mastodon.online/@rafa_font/113933252531725772Day 3: Overcoming the monster
https://mastodon.online/@rafa_font/113938644845576138Day 4: From Rags to Riches
https://mastodon.online/@rafa_font/113944901550800564Day 5: No plot, like Stephen King
https://mastodon.online/@rafa_font/113951403924132141Day 6: Ki-shon-ten-ketsu
https://mastodon.online/@rafa_font/113956611980657741Day 7: Ways to fail
https://mastodon.online/@rafa_font/113962046630744727 -
We're halfway through the Mastodon exclusive crash-course on #storytelling
We have done:
- Week 1: story structure.
- Week 2: defining the characters.And now we start:
- Week 3 : tips to write and narrate stories.
- Week 4 : playing a game - we will write a story collectively.Follow #BetterStories to see all the related posts.
-
Day 13 (out of 28) of #BetterStories takes us through the dark secondary characters.
The dark figures are there to confront the hero-ine, to clash with them, to force them to improve, so that the hero-ine eventually defeats the dark forces.
The archetypes are parallel to the light forces: dark father/tyrant, dark queen, dark rival, dark other half.
But dark characters are more than just a reflection of the good...
1/8
-
Day 12 of #BetterStories is about secondary characters
We'll divide them in two: those that help the hero-ine (the light ones), and those that go against them (the dark ones)
If you want to introduce light secondaries in your story, what are the archetypal rules?
They can appear at critical moments, when things go wrong, to bring the hero-ine back on track
They may offer guidance, but they can't control the story. It has to be the hero-ine that ultimately acts
-
Why tell stories?
"they are memorable – therefore a good teaching technique"
"they allow us to imagine ourselves as the hero"
"By listening to stories, we learn how to navigate life’s challenges"
"storytelling doesn’t just help the listener—it profoundly benefits the storyteller"
"storytelling can transform organizations"
"the ability to tell a good story remains one of the most human—and powerful—skills we have"
Tell #BetterStories
By Nick Morgan on #PublicWords
https://publicwords.com/2025/02/04/why-tell-stories/ -
How do we define the hero-ine in our story?
Welcome to Day 11 of #BetterStories. In this crash-course on #Storytelling we spend the whole month discussing story and plot. Only on Mastodon!
The universal plot is "growing up". If your hero-ine doesn't grow, the story is not resolved.
Every story is about the maturing process of the protagonists.
Adventures, tests, the dark forces... all these force our hero-ine to grow. At the beginning, they're weak. At resolution time, they're strong.
1/7
-
What are all stories about? What is the universal plot?
Think about this basic story: a little girl who went up the mountain. Then she got down. Wasn't she different when she returned? Had the mountain not changed her? Had she not see something special up there?
The universal plot is about *the transformation* of the hero-ine.
This is day 10 of #BetterStories, a Mastodon crash-course on #Storytelling
-
It's not easy to accept the call. That's why, if you do it, you are called heroine or hero.
This is Day 9 of #BetterStories (follow the hashtag for all the content!)
The Science of Storytelling says that stories have an "ignition point". It is "the first event in a cause-and-effect sequence that will cause the protagonist to behave in an unexpected way".
In their words, "the fantastic spark between plot and character has taken place".
#Storytelling 1/5
-
This is day 8 of #BetterStories, a Mastodon crash course on #Storytelling
Let's work on openings
Ever heard: "open with a blast!"? Let's try something different: open with "a change"
A change, or a hint that something will change, captures our attention
Kafka's Metamorphosis does it in the first line
"As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect"
The change breaks the balance, creates tension, and starts the story