People like to tell stories. Sitting around a campfire or sharing an online conversation, we’ve been doing it for a very long time. Learning other people’s experiences will help you with your own work. Meet the people who’ve done similar projects, study the work of people you admire. This will sharpen your focus and may also inspire you to do things differently.
The Nitty Gritty
Process phase
Discover
Suggested time
Ongoing throughout the project
People
The whole team
Steps
01
Get inspired
Track down people who have done similar projects and talk to them. What worked, what didn’t work? Learn from their mistakes and be inspired by their examples. Pick their brains, and ask them for feedback on for your project too.
02
Learn the craft
Get a sense of the different approaches people use to tell stories. Here are a few starters:
03
Be creative
Look for inspiration in different places, people are doing creative things with heritage.
04
Support others in return
Maintain good relations with your peers: you never know when you might need them!
05
Read!
Use toolkits, like this one. Read and read widely – fiction, non-fiction, memoirs, essays, journalism – it all helps build a sense of what makes a compelling story, and how one event can be narrated in any number of different ways.
