Choose a Narrative Structure - quintenedwardwilliams.com · Tzvetan Todorov: Equilibrium,...

Presentations need structure to hold a message and engage an audience

Quinten Edward Williams

Narrative structure

Linear and nonlinear narrative

Aristotle’s Beginning, Middle, End

Gustav Freytag’s Pyramid

Freytag’s Pyramid and the Three Act Plot

Christopher Brooker’s Meta Plot

Visualizing narrative structure. (2018). Kensy Cooperrider. Retrieved 10 February 2019, from

http://kensycooperrider.com/blog/visualizing-narrative-structure

Narrative, Story, Plot, Narrative Structure

Poynzt, S. (2002). Visual storytelling and narrative structure. Vancouver, BC : Pacific Cinematheque.

Story = A series of events. The content. Conflicts. Characters. Settings.

Plot = How the story is put together. It is a structure. How the series of events are set-up and resolved.

Narrative = Story + Plot. It is a specific manifestation of a story. How audience receives the information.

Narrative Structure = A structural framework that underlies the presentation of the narrative

Narrative Structure Categories

Mascolini, J. (2017) The Post Nonlinear Narrative Structure: Introduction. Medium. Retrieved 11 February 2019, from https://medium.com/@jacopomsn/the-post-nonlinear-narrative-structure-introduction-52f6dfe37377Riedl, M., & Bulitko, V. (2012). Interactive Narrative: An Intelligent Systems Approach. AI Magazine, 34(1), 67. doi:10.1609/aimag.v34i1.2449

Linear NonlinearInteractive Narrative

Plot follows chronological order. Story is presented in the order that events occurred.

Events are portrayed are not in the original chronological order. The plot does not follow direct causality.

The user makes choices which affects the plot direction. Story elements are interactive. Immersed in the story.

https://www.interactivenarratives.org

Aristotle: Beginning, Middle, End

Aristotle. (trans. 1895). The Poetics of Aristotle. Translated by. S.H. Butcher. London: Macmillan and Co.

https://archive.org/details/poeticstranslate00arisuoft/page/2

Plot with Unity of action

“Tragedy is an imitation of an action that

is complete, and whole, and of a certain

magnitude. A whole is that which has a

beginning, middle, and end.” (Aristotle,

trans. 1895, p. 29)

Freytag. G. (1908). Freytag's Technique of the Drama, An Exposition of Dramatic Composition and Art. Scott, Chicago: Forseman & Company.

Gustav Freytag: Five stage story structure / Story mountain

The Freytag Pyramid maps onto the three act plot structure.

Daniel T. de Lill, P. (2019). Plot. Retrieved 10 February 2019, from https://danieldelill.com/the-blob-blog/f/plot

Freytag. G. (1908). Freytag's Technique of the Drama, An Exposition of Dramatic Composition and Art. Scott, Chicago: Forseman & Company.

Christopher Booker: Meta Plot (symbolic events)

Booker, C. 2004. The Seven Basic Plots.New York: Continuum.

Anticipation

stageDream stage

Frustration

stage

Nightmare

stageResolution

An introduction to the context, the call to action, and a promise of what is to come.

There is a first contact and an initial success, with a feeling of invincibility after success.

A confrontation with the real enemy. There are setbacks.

All hope seems lost at the highpoint in dramatic tension. Bold action is required.

The hero or heroine is victorious.Union / Escape / Destruction / Death Wish / Redemption

Tzvetan Todorov: Equilibrium, disruption, resolution

Todorov T. (1977). The poetics of prose. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.

Baseline

Equilibrium

Disruptor

Event

Antagonist

Protagonist

QuestClimax /

ResolutionRe-Equilibrium

Recognition. A force of change disrupts the existing baseline equilibrium and makes a new state of disequilibrium.Creates a hook.

Characters lives are normal in a steady baseline equilibrium.

Forces of the disruptor and antidisruptor play themselves out.

Disruptor vs antidisruptor creates suspense

Story comes to a close. New steady state. Wisdom / Experience

Attempt to repair. Characters respond to disruptor. The antidisruptor seeks to restore a baseline equilibrium.

Kurt Vonnegut: The Shapes of Stories

Man in a hole

Boy meets girl

Cinderella

Kafka

Hamlet

Old testament

Creation myth

Vonnegut, K. (1995). Kurt Vonnegut on the Shapes of Stories.

Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oP3c1h8v2ZQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oP3c1h8v2ZQ&feature=youtu.be

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oP3c1h8v2ZQ

Vonnegut: Man in a hole

“Somebody gets into trouble, gets out of it again. It is not accidental that the line ends up higher than where it began.This is encouraging to readers.”

Vonnegut, K. (2005). A man without a country. New York: Seven Stories Press.

Eilam, M. (2012). Kurt Vonnegut - The Shapes of Stories. Retrieved 10 February 2019, from https://visual.ly/community/infographic/other/kurt-vonnegut-shapes-stories-0

Vonnegut: Boy meets girl

“Somebody, an ordinary person, on a day like any other day, comes across something perfectly wonderful: ‘Oh boy, this is my lucky day!’ … ‘Shit!’ … And gets back up again.”



Vonnegut: Cinderella

Receive incremental good fortune, then suddenly lose good standing, only to regain it and more.



Vonnegut: Kafka

Story starts off with a character in a bad place, and it ends worse.



Vonnegut: Hamlet

The story is ambiguous. Like in life, we can not be certain if many of the developments are good or bad.



Vonnegut: Creation Myth

A deity delivers incremental gifts that build to form the world.

Vonnegut, K. (1994). Palm Sunday: Welcome to the Monkeyhouse. New York: Vintage.


Vonnegut: Old Testament

A deity delivers incremental gifts that build to form the world, and then its taken away abruptly.

Vonnegut, K. (1994). Palm Sunday: Welcome to the Monkeyhouse. New York: Vintage.


Computational Story Lab:

Emotional arcs of stories have

six trajectories

Rags to riches - An ongoing emotional rise.

Riches to rags - An ongoing emotional fall.

Man in a hole - A fall followed by a rise.

Icarus - A rise followed by a fall.

Cinderella - A rise-fall-rise pattern.

Oedipus - A fall-rise-fall pattern.

Reagan, A., Mitchell, L., Kiley, D., Danforth, C., & Dodds, P. (2016).

The emotional arcs of stories are dominated by six basic shapes. EPJ Data Science,

5(1). doi:10.1140/epjds/s13688-016-0093-1

Computational Story Lab: Patterns

Plot name Pattern Example

Rags to riches Rise Alice’s Adventures Underground

Riches to rags Fall Romeo and Juliet

Man in a hole Fall-rise The Magic of Oz

Icarus Rise-fall Shadowings

Cinderella Rise-fall-rise Through the Magic Door

Oedipus Fall-rise-fall This World is Taboo

Reagan, A., Mitchell, L., Kiley, D., Danforth, C., & Dodds, P. (2016). The emotional arcs of stories are dominated by six basic shapes. Appendices. EPJ Data Science, 5(1). doi:10.1140/epjds/s13688-016-0093-1

Computational Story Lab (CSL): The Ugly Duckling

Quick, M. (2019). Every story in the world has one of these six basic plots. BBC.com. Retrieved 10 February 2019, from http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20180525-every-story-in-

the-world-has-one-of-these-six-basic-plots

“Things get generally better for the

duckling over the course of the story,

but there are flashes of light and

dark along the way.” (Quick, 2019)

Complex structure

Two man in a hole

Overall rags to riches

Booker, C. (2004). The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories. London: Continuum.

Marouda, Y. (2017, October 21). Order & Chance: Narratives of New Media.

Retrieved February 15, 2019,

from http://www.interactivearchitecture.org/orderchance-narratives-of-new-media.html

Christopher Booker: 7 basic plots + 2 extra plots

Overcoming the monster - Heros set out and defeat an evil.

Rags to riches - Hero has a crisis and then a success.

The quest - Hero learns of a treasure, faces challenges, and succeeds.

Voyage and return - Starts with an aimless wandering, is challenged, finds a purpose, and grows wiser.

Comedy - Humorous characters, sustained confusion and adverse circumstances, but find a happy ending.

Tragedy - Heros set out to defeat an evil but don’t.

Rebirth - Hero changes, is renewed, or is transformed.

Rebellion against the one - Over time hero realises governing force’ right to rule.

Mystery - A riddle is posed that the hero works to solve.

Booker: Examples of the nine plots

Plot name Example

Overcoming the monster Odyssey; Lord of the Rings

Rags to riches The Man in the Iron Mask; David Copperfield; The Ugly Duckling

The quest Don Quixote; Raiders of the Lost Ark

Voyage and return Alice in Wonderland; Gulliver's Travels

Comedy Much Ado about Nothing; When Harry met Sally

Tragedy The Picture of Dorian Grey; Romeo and Juliet

Rebellion against the one Brave New World; 1984

Mystery The Hound of the Baskervilles; Murder on the Orient Express

Booker, C. (2004) The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories. London: Continuum.

Quick, M. (2019). Every story in the world has one of these six basic plots. BBC.com. Retrieved 10 February 2019, from http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20180525-every-story-in-

the-world-has-one-of-these-six-basic-plots

Joseph Campbell: Monomyth

Separation / Departure - The hero undertakes a

movement from the known world into the

unknown world.

Initiation - The hero undertakes a series of trials

and rites of passages in the unknown world which

transforms the hero into their true selves.

Return - The hero is victorious and can return to

the know world, but with the new wisdom.

Harris, R. 2017. http://www.yourheroicjourney.comCampbell, J. 1949. The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Princeton: Princeton University Press

Sundberg, I. (2013). What is Arch Plot and Classic Design?. Ingrid Sundberg. Retrieved 11 February 2019, from http://ingridsundberg.com/2013/06/05/what-is-arch-plot-and-classic-design/

Monomyth: The classic plot

The Monomyth is very prevalent

Vogler, C. (1998). The writer's journey: Mythic structure for writers. Studio City, CA: M. Wiese Productions.

Example of the Monomyth

BLACK. (2013). My journey to yo-yo mastery | BLACK. YouTube. Retrieved 10 February 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnuFrtTNUTc&feature=youtu.be8 Classic storytelling techniques for engaging presentations | Story Telling Methods. (2018). Sparkol. Retrieved 10 February 2019, from https://www.sparkol.com/en/Blog/8-Classic-storytelling-techniques-for-engaging-presentations

Takes audience on a journey

Shows the benefits of the risks

Shows the development

Demonstrate the learning and wisdom

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnuFrtTNUTc

Duarte: The Audience Journey

Duarte, N. (2010). Resonate: Present Visual Stories that Transform Audiences. (pp.35) New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.

“There must be some kind of conflict or imbalance perceived by the audience that your presentation resolves.”

“Clearly contrast who the audience is when they walk into the room (in their ordinary world) with whom they could be when they leave the room (crossing the threshold into a special world).”

Harmon, D. Story Structure 101: Super Basic Shit. (2019).

Channel 101 Wiki. Retrieved 10 February 2019, from

https://channel101.fandom.com/wiki/Story_Structure_101:_Super_Basic_Shit

Dan Harmon: Simple Story Circle

You A character is in a zone of

comfort,

Need But they want something.

Go They enter an unfamiliar

situation,

Search Adapt to it,

Find Get what they wanted,

Take Pay a heavy price for it,

Return Then return to their familiar

situation,

Change Having changed.

Reagan, A. (2016) The emotional arcs of stories are dominated by six basic shapes. p. 3

Harmon: The structure of Rick and Morty

Not Just a Movie. (2014). #44: Story Structure: Dan Harmon Story Circle, Vol. 1. Not Just a Movie. Retrieved 10 February 2019, from https://notjustamovie.com/2014/08/13/ep44The Dan Harmon Story Circle: What Authors Can Learn from Rick and Morty • Reedsy. (2018). Reedsy. Retrieved 10 February 2019, from https://blog.reedsy.com/dan-harmon-story-circle//

The Rhythm of Biology

The Rhythm of Psychology

The Rhythm of Society


Harmon: The structure of The Dark Knight

Studio Binder. (2018). Dan Harmon Story Circle: 8 Proven Steps to Better Stories. YouTube. Retrieved 10 February 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XGUVkOmPTA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XGUVkOmPTA

Freeth, P. (2008). NLP in Business. Warwickshire: CGW.

Nested Loops

Embed a suggestion within another story

A story within a story within a story, with the

cliffhanger effect.

Start with your first story.

Build up to a climax, but don’t resolve it.

Start the second story.

Build up to a climax, but don’t resolve it.

Tell a third story beginning to end.

Resolve the second story.

Resolve the first story.Start Story 1

Start Story 2

SuggestionEnd Story

2End Story

1


Nested Loops: Explanation

Creates an experience for the audience.

Good to transition audience from one mindset to another

mindset.

Explaining the process of how you were inspired/ came to

a conclusion.

Can be used to explain or impart knowledge.

You are using analogies to explain a central concept.

Showing how a piece of wisdom was passed along to you.

Non-linear story.

Can be difficult to follow.

Examples:

Hamlet, Titanic, The Notebook

8 Classic storytelling techniques for engaging presentations | Story Telling Methods. (2018). Sparkol. Retrieved 10 February 2019, from https://www.sparkol.com/en/Blog/8-Classic-storytelling-techniques-for-engaging-presentations

Ferreira, M. (2016). Storytelling, techniques for bloggers | Presslabs. Presslabs. Retrieved 10 February 2019, from https://www.presslabs.com/how-to/storytelling-techniques-for-bloggers-infographic/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXu2CTN1Gcg

Nancy Duarte: The Presentation Form

Clear beginning, middle, and end.

Beginning - Setting the context of what is

Call to Adventure - Turning point to separate

begging from middle / an imbalance

Call to Action - Turning point to separate middle

from end / a way to resolve

End - A resolution of where things can be

Oscillate between what is, and what could be.

Back and forth, feels like events are unfolding.

Duarte, N. (2010). Resonate: Present Visual Stories that Transform Audiences.

(p.39) New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.

Duarte: What is / What could be

Duarte, N. (2010). Resonate: Present Visual Stories that Transform Audiences. (pp.36-37) New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.

Examples: What is / What could be

Zander, B. (2008). The transformative power of classical music | Benjamin Zander. YouTube. Retrieved 10 February 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9LCwI5iErE&feature=youtu.be

King, M.L. (I963). Have a Dream, Martin Luther King Jr. Full Speech. YouTube. Retrieved 10 February 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARvrvJV4th4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9LCwI5iErE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARvrvJV4th4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7qPAY9JqE4

In Medias Res

“Into the middle of things”

Start story in the middle / heat of action

Creates a hook to know beginning and ending

Duarte, N. (2010). Resonate: Present Visual Stories that Transform Audiences.

(p.39) New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.

Beginning Middle End

Ferreira, M. (2016). Storytelling, techniques for bloggers | Presslabs. Presslabs. Retrieved 10 February 2019, from https://www.presslabs.com/how-to/storytelling-techniques-for-bloggers-infographic/8 Classic storytelling techniques for engaging presentations | Story Telling Methods. (2018). Sparkol. Retrieved 10 February 2019, from https://www.sparkol.com/en/Blog/8-Classic-storytelling-techniques-for-engaging-presentations

In Medias Res: Examples

Engages audience

Focus attention on pivotal moment

Creates a hook

Flashbacks

Has flexibility

Can be distracting

Can be confusing

Examples:

Memento, Forest Gump, Donnie Darko, The Odyssey,

Raging Bull, The Double and the Gambler

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyR-K2CZIHQ

Plot device: MacGuffin

This is an object or device in a film or a book which

serves as a trigger for the plot, but has little or no

narrative explanation as to why it is important.

Is the nature of the object or device

interchangeable?

Is the nature of the item irrelevant to the plot?


MacGuffin - TV Tropes. (2019). TV Tropes. Retrieved 11 February 2019, from https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Macguffin

Ferreira, M. 2016). Storytelling, techniques for bloggers | Presslabs. Presslabs. Retrieved 10 February 2019, from https://www.presslabs.com/how-to/storytelling-techniques-for-bloggers-infographic/Perno, G. (2018). The Ten Most Important MacGuffins in the History of Cinema. Cinelinx.com. Retrieved 11 February 2019, from https://www.cinelinx.com/movie-stuff/item/12631-the-ten-most-important-macguffins-in-the-history-of-cinema.html

Mc:Lean, I. (2017). The Universal Rules of a MacGuffin – The Writing Cooperative.. The Writing Cooperative. Retrieved 11 February 2019, from https://writingcooperative.com/the-universal-rules-of-a-macguffin-c18f888a5952

MacGuffin: Example

Tech tutorials and DIY tutorials

Educational and didactic

Makes reader focus on objective

Gives definitive solution to problem

Only shows a limited amount of ways to solve the problem

Depends on relative understanding o subject

Relies on personal experience

Examples:

The Big Labowski rug; Cassablanca letters of transit;

Citizen Kane Rosebund; Star Wars Death Star plans;

Montey Python and the Holy Grale

Branching

Main story is divided into story nodes.

Story nodes are presented one at a time.

Story ends when all nodes are presented.

There can be a different or common conclusion.

Simple branching

Diamond branching

Petal branching


Ferreira, M. (2016). Storytelling, techniques for bloggers | Presslabs. Presslabs. Retrieved 10 February 2019, from https://www.presslabs.com/how-to/storytelling-techniques-for-bloggers-infographic/Storytelling: Story Structure. (2002). Cs.cmu.edu. Retrieved 11 February 2019, from http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~jparise/research/storytelling/structure/

Branching types: Simple and Diamond

Story divides in two or more nodes.

Each node ends differently.

Story nodes diverge, but then converge.

Shows how different people came together.

Shows how something came together.

Shows the course of a development.

Shows how symbiotic relationships formed.

Ferreira, M. (2016). Storytelling, techniques for bloggers | Presslabs. Presslabs. Retrieved 10 February 2019, from https://www.presslabs.com/how-to/storytelling-techniques-for-bloggers-infographic/Storytelling: Story Structure. (2002). Cs.cmu.edu. Retrieved 11 February 2019, from http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~jparise/research/storytelling/structure/

Branching types: Petal

Can show interconnectedness of process

Can draw the audience into the relationships

Can relate several scenarios to one base idea

Can be confusing

Examples:

City of God; Lost Highway

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp0HIF3SfI4

Ferreira, M. (2016). Storytelling, techniques for bloggers | Presslabs. Presslabs. Retrieved 10 February 2019, from https://www.presslabs.com/how-to/storytelling-techniques-for-bloggers-infographic/Mascolini, J. (2017) The Post Nonlinear Narrative Structure: Introduction. Medium. Retrieved 11 February 2019, from https://medium.com/@jacopomsn/the-post-nonlinear-narrative-structure-introduction-52f6dfe37377

Branching : Nonlinear

No direct causality

Portraying events out of chronological order.

Good for debates and discussions

Good for going through many different ideas

Can be very confusing

Could lead to no conclusion

Examples:

Momento, Lost, The Abominable Bride

Plot twist

Disrupt your audience expectations with a shift

in the direction of the story through a plot device.

False start and that is reversed before the real

conclusion is given.

8 Classic storytelling techniques for engaging presentations | Story Telling Methods. (2018). Sparkol. Retrieved 10 February 2019, from https://www.sparkol.com/en/Blog/8-Classic-storytelling-techniques-for-

engaging-presentations

Beginning Middle End

Ferreira, M. (2016). Storytelling, techniques for bloggers | Presslabs. Presslabs. Retrieved 10 February 2019, from https://www.presslabs.com/how-to/storytelling-techniques-for-bloggers-infographic/8 Classic storytelling techniques for engaging presentations | Story Telling Methods. (2018). Sparkol. Retrieved 10 February 2019, from https://www.sparkol.com/en/Blog/8-Classic-storytelling-techniques-for-engaging-presentations

Plot Twist: Examples

Makes audience pay more attention to your key message

Good to show innovation through failure

Good to show creative problem solving

Can be misleading

Not direct and can waste time

Examples:

The Sixth Sense; Fight Club; Planet of the Apes; Memento;

The Sixth Sense; Se7evn

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqW9fnkhqrs

Minto Pyramid Structure

Beginning, middle, end

Introduction, body, conclusion

MECE: Mutually Exclusive Collectively

Exhaustive

Problem-Solution

SCQA

Can have different data sources and stories

within this structure.

Minto, B. (2003). The Minto Pyramid Principle: Logic in Writing, Thinking and Problem Solving. Minto International.

Ranadive, A. (2013) The Pyramid Principle – Lessons from McKinse. Medium. Retrieved 11 February 2019, from

https://medium.com/lessons-from-mckinsey/the-pyramid-principle-f0885dd3c5c7

Minto Pyramid: Very direct form to relay information.

Minto, B. (2003). The Minto Pyramid Principle: Logic in Writing, Thinking and Problem Solving. Minto International.Powerusersoftwares. (2016). https://www.powerusersoftwares.com/single-post/2016/07/31/Give-a-brilliant-structure-to-your-presentations-with-the-Pyramid-Principle

SCQA:

Grant, L. (2007). The Veils of Clio: Dimensions of a Behavioral Narratology.

The Analysis Of Verbal Behavior, 23(1), 57.

Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2774612/

Nonfiction work as narrative

Raw data and sequences of past events can be represented in many different ways.

Like fiction, nonfiction has plots. Plotting events in different ways creates diverse perspectives.

Nonfiction places past events into a causal plausible sequence: places raw data into a plot through differential selection.

Nonfiction motivates audience to take an interest, through the creation of tension.

The theme of the story emerges as tension is released.

Differential selection of data and events points audience attention to chosen details, but can distort world.

Example: Nonfiction and narrative in a multimedia news story

Branch, J. (2012). Snow Fall: The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek. Nytimes.com. Retrieved 10 February 2019, from

http://www.nytimes.com/projects/2012/snow-fall/index.html#/?part=tunnel-creek

Example: Nonfiction and narrative in a multimedia news story

Panetta, F., Poulton, L., Purcell, A., Moss, S., Shabbir, N., & Brazier, L. (2019). A global guide to the first world war - interactive documentary. the Guardian. Retrieved 10 February 2019, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2014/jul/23/a-global-guide-to-the-first-world-war-interactive-documentary

EXERCISEDesign a presentation using a narrative structure.

(Individual work - but help each other with the learning content.)


Create a presentation / story using a structure.Consider what you have been doing in your design project, and your research activity in it. What

about the project can you identify as having the potential for a strong message? What information

would you like to relay about that context? What story would you like to tell? Which elements

interests you? Which elements will create interest in the audience? What are the critical points that

you would like to relay? How should this story be told?

Then, employ a narrative structure to make a story about an aspect of the design work. How will

you relay the story through a plot? Therefore, come up with a sequence of events using your

information and data according to any presentation structure.

For instance, you could employ Todorov’s narrative structure: Equilibrium, Disruption, Quest,

Resolution, and a New Equilibrium. Or you could use Duarte’s Presentation Form: “What is, and

what could be”. Or you could use the Minto Pyramid Structure problem-solution format. And so

forth.

Later we will look at creating buy-in specific choices in how the content is weaved through the

structure, and how you undertake the presentation.

Choose a Narrative Structure - quintenedwardwilliams.com · Tzvetan Todorov: Equilibrium,...

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