Have you ever heard of flash fiction?
What about a mini-saga?
Today I’m talking short stories—I’ll share a few FUN examples and then dive into sage advice which helped me outline five aspects of plot that work together to create the kind of personal stories family members and others actually want to read. I’ve pulled insights from an article about marketing in The Harvard Business Review and from boots-on-the-ground storyteller Brandon Stanton of HONY. I will also share what I learned in person from oral storytelling legend, Donald Davis.

The FIVE aspects to focus on when crafting short, compelling stories …

1. Identify essential characters

2. Use a single perspective—one that will allow you to deliver your message most succinctly.

3. Reveal the crisis and the change or realization it caused.

4. Use details that allow the reader to ‘picture’ your story.

5. Write (or scrapbook) people, relationships and transformation

For 20 years I’ve taught scrapbookers how to easily expose the true meaning in a beloved photo. I’ll share three of these Stories I Love from my first album. The cool thing about these kinds of personal stories is that they don’t have the same kind of “date stamp” that other scrapbook pages do—they become timeless messages from your life experience.

Below are the three one-of-a-kind photos that inspired these stories. Please note that a photo does not need to excel photographically to be the genesis of a story you love—what it needs to do is elicit emotion that you will remember. Emotion is the key that allows you move through layers of information to the heart of personal meaning. Emotion most often accompanies photos that capture or represent relationships.

I started this episode with wisdom spoken by legendary producer, Don Hahn. Be sure to watch or listen to The Storytelling Essentials webinar replay. This interview hosted by Harris III is a powerful reminder of the need for personal expression and an understanding of the power of story—especially now—as we navigate current events and work together for needed and long overdue changes in our society. I truly loved every minute of this insightful conversation.

Additional Resources

When You Write is a fantastic resource if you’re wanting to really dive into writing with the goal of publishing a book, but even if that’s not yet your goal there is much over there to take in.

Jessica Majewski has written, How to Outline a Short Story—which includes the fun, colorful PDF pictured here. After you read through her detailed article you’ll want to download it and post it where you write— to spark your memory!

If you’re looking for a short book to help you craft short family stories, I recommend this one. Telling Your Own Stories by Donald Davis is half prompts and half expert how-to. Donald is a sought-after oral storyteller who understands, practices and teaches the art of discovering your stories and bringing them to life.