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Notes
This project was published by WePresent by Wetransfer
Click on each section below to read the new rules. Interviews and edits by Erin Ruffin.
Rule 1 Hiro Murai on Plot
Rule 2 Cait Oppermann on Character
Rule 3 Carmen Maria Machado on Theme
Rule 4 Samin Nosrat on Dialogue
Rule 5 Hrishikesh Hirway on Rhythm
Rule 6 Olimpia Zagnoli on Decor
Rule 7 Reshma Gajjar on Spectacle
This project was published by WePresent by Wetransfer
Click on each section below to read the new rules. Interviews and edits by Erin Ruffin.
Rule 1 Hiro Murai on Plot
Rule 2 Cait Oppermann on Character
Rule 3 Carmen Maria Machado on Theme
Rule 4 Samin Nosrat on Dialogue
Rule 5 Hrishikesh Hirway on Rhythm
Rule 6 Olimpia Zagnoli on Decor
Rule 7 Reshma Gajjar on Spectacle
New Rules of Storytelling
~ by Erin Ruffin
Over 2000 years ago, Aristotle identified what you need to tell a good story, and today we are still following his instructions. High time for a refresh, I asked seven creatives ranging from the worlds of food and film, podcasts and photography, to rethink what makes a good story in today’s world.
Aristotle is considered “the last man who knew everything” and so, despite the passing of so much time, his storytelling formula hasn’t really been tinkered with. His seven elements – plot, theme, character, dialogue, décor, rhythm, and spectacle – still form the backbone of what we read, watch and listen to today.
But the world is a completely different place thanks a lot to time and, mostly, to the internet. Today stories are told and consumed relentlessly, every minute of every day, from binge TV to political podcasts to video albums. We protest, celebrate and mourn by telling stories.
And then there's the greatest stage of all, social media, where we play the lead character in a carefully constructed story of our own life with god-like control over all the elements – dialogue (comments), décor (succulents), spectacle (selfies in bikinis). You get the idea.
Where storytelling was an event back in Aristotle’s time, now it’s a way of life. And so it seems we should reevaluate what it takes to tell a good one, and, while we’re at it, who gets to decide that.
We know the quantity of stories in the world has changed, but have the rules? In asking some of today’s best storytellers to break down this ancient formula block-by-block, we set the stage to redefine what it takes to tell a good one.
