The way you organise and frame your contents will help tell the bigger story that you set out in your project plan. Each story is part of the jigsaw puzzle. Think about how your audience will be able to zoom in to the individual stories and enjoy the experience as a whole. How will you bring history to life?
The Nitty Gritty
Process phase
Share
Suggested time
At least a month
People
Writer, curator, media producer, researcher
Steps
01
Review the material
Go back to your project plan and remind yourself of your aims at the outset. Do you now have all the ingredients to tell your story effectively?
02
Plot and detail
Plot drives a story forward, and detail brings it to life. The combination of the two are essential to effective storytelling. Think of ‘plot’ not just as the shape of each individual story, but as the overarching story the whole project is trying to tell. Details such as quotes, photographs, objects and so on, help to make the story ‘ring true’: they take us into the world of the storyteller and make the experience authentic and real.
03
Diversity
Use different perspectives on the same theme or event, will add much needed colour. Which stories seem to clash? Is there something to be learned by disagreement? Where does ‘the truth’ lie? Perhaps somewhere in between? The places where stories overlap or bump up against each other are often the most interesting.
04
Keep things open
You don’t need to provide all the answers. Unfinished stories will leave people looking for answers, creating curiosity and engagement.
05
Engage all the senses
There are many ways to tell a story. Words can only take us so far: experiment with pictures, sounds, smells, touch. Make your story as vivid and engaging as possible.
06
Historypin
Historypin.org is a great place to share your stories. It’s a free to use community archive that lets you create your very own online exhibition that others can add to.
