Storyworthy Summary (C8): Finding Your Beginning

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Your five-second moment - that point of transformation - is the most important part of your story.

Just the fact that you have a five-second moment already makes you a better storyteller than most of humanity.

Now you need to construct the rest of the story.

Finding your five-second moment is just the beginning of constructing your story - or should I say the end. LINK: Storyworthy Summary (C6 & C7): 5-Second Stories

Because it is the end. It’s the purpose of your story and must come as close to the end of your story as possible.

Unlike fictional stories where you might start from the start and see where your imagination leads you, when telling true stories about your life, it is very important to start with the end in mind.

You know your five-second moment, and you know it will come at or close to the end. Now you just need to craft how you will describe it for the greatest emotional effect.

To find the beginning of your story, ask yourself where your story ends.

What is the meaning of your five-second moment?

Try to articulate it as succinctly and as simply as possible. Use no more than a few sentences.

Now ask yourself: What is the opposite of your five-second moment?

This is where your story starts.

For example, if your five-second moment was when you realized you were in love, then the opposite might be when you felt there was no one out there for you, or that you didn’t believe in love.

By starting at the opposite of your ending, it forces you to have a story arc - a journey of change.

• I was once this, but now I am this.
• I once thought this, but now I think this.
• I once felt this, but now I feel this.

All stories need to reflect change. It doesn’t have to be positive or profound, but it must be there. This is the key to any story worth telling.

This model of the beginning being the opposite for the end is true for almost all movies and novels too. After all, they are stories.

Watch the first fifteen minutes of any movie and you should be able to figure out the likely ending, i.e., the moment of change.

For example, if the start of the movie shows the protagonist as someone that doesn’t like animals, then there is a good chance that will change throughout the movie. All the dinosaurs or aliens or car chases throughout the movie are really just the filler. At the end of the movie, the protagonist will probably have made some kind of bond with an animal. This would be the moment of change. I once disliked animals, but now I have a pet.

Identifying the five-second moment is a critical aspect. Without it you don’t have a story.

But as far as actually crafting your story goes, where you start is the most important decision you will make. If you choose it correctly, it will create a satisfying arc, which will cause your audience to connect with it. That connection is what makes the story memorable.

Once you have decided what the opposite of your five-second moment is, you need to choose an anecdote from your life to demonstrate it.

Using the previous example from before, you need to find an anecdote (or numerous anecdotes) from your past demonstrating how or why you dislike animals. Perhaps you were bitten as a child, or the monkey at the zoo flung poo at you.

Choose your anecdotes carefully. You want to find those that evoke different emotions. Funny, heartwarming, sad, etc. You also want them to take place in a variety of settings.

Don’t just choose the first thing that comes to mind. Make a list and then analyze each one for content, tone, emotion, and connectivity. Also think about the timeline.

Choosing the right anecdote to kick off your story will make crafting the rest of it much easier, so take your time deciding.

The more complicated a story is, the harder it will be for the audience to follow, and the less effect it will have.

Simplifying your story also makes it easier to recall.

To force simplicity into a story, try to start your story as close to the end as possible. This eliminates the need for unnecessary details.

Another good idea is to minimize the amount of different locations.

Always start with an important character in the story moving through space, e.g., “I’m riding to work” or “my girlfriend is driving along the freeway.”

It doesn’t matter what the movement is, but it must be there. Running, falling, swimming, rappelling, climbing, etc.

This forward momentum evokes in your audience the feeling that the story is going somewhere. It’s action.

Many people start a story by saying “you need to hear this”, “this is hilarious” or something along these lines. Never do this. It sets expectations of how the audience should feel or react. Once you do this, you have to live up to those expectations. Also, no one wants to be told a summary of the story. Let the emotion it will evoke be a surprise.

Sam’s Note: This has nothing to do with this chapter’s summary but the author includes it as a “story break” before the next chapter. I thought it was interesting, so I’m including it here also.

1. Don’t compliment yourself.

2. Be self-deprecating, but only if it’s real.

3. Don’t ask rhetorical questions.

4. Offer one granular bit of wisdom, something that is both applicable and memorable - This is very important! Leave them with one final lesson they can use in the real world.

5. Don’t cater any part of your speech to the parents of the graduates.

6. Make your audience laugh.

7. Never mention the temperature.

8. Speak as if you were speaking to friends.

9. Emotion is good, but don’t be sad or somber.

10. Don’t describe the world the graduates will be entering.

11. Don’t define terms by quoting the dictionary.

12. Don’t use quotes. Instead, be quotable.

13. End your speech in less than the allotted time.

Read the next chapter here. INSERT LINK TO NEXT CHAPTER

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