{"id":5640,"date":"2013-07-08T00:01:38","date_gmt":"2013-07-08T04:01:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/?p=5640"},"modified":"2019-03-05T09:31:17","modified_gmt":"2019-03-05T13:31:17","slug":"start-with-the-snake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/2013\/07\/start-with-the-snake\/","title":{"rendered":"Start with the snake in storytelling structure"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Find the inciting incident<\/h2>\n<p>First things first.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_20047\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-20047\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"20047\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/2013\/07\/start-with-the-snake\/start-with-the-snake-3\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/start-with-the-snake.png\" data-orig-size=\"600,300\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"start-with-the-snake\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Snakes alive&lt;\/strong&gt; Begin your story with the inciting incident \u2014 the conflict that launches the action and moves your subject to act. &lt;em&gt;Image by Sebastian Spindler&lt;\/em&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/start-with-the-snake-300x150.png\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/start-with-the-snake.png\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/start-with-the-snake.png\" alt=\"Start with the snake\" title=\"Start with the snake\" width=\"600\" height=\"300\" class=\"size-full wp-image-20047 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/start-with-the-snake.png 600w, https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/start-with-the-snake-300x150.png 300w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 600px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 600\/300;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"20047\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/2013\/07\/start-with-the-snake\/start-with-the-snake-3\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/start-with-the-snake.png\" data-orig-size=\"600,300\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"start-with-the-snake\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Snakes alive&lt;\/strong&gt; Begin your story with the inciting incident \u2014 the conflict that launches the action and moves your subject to act. &lt;em&gt;Image by Sebastian Spindler&lt;\/em&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/start-with-the-snake-300x150.png\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/start-with-the-snake.png\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/start-with-the-snake.png\" alt=\"Start with the snake\" title=\"Start with the snake\" width=\"600\" height=\"300\" class=\"size-full wp-image-20047\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/start-with-the-snake.png 600w, https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/start-with-the-snake-300x150.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/noscript><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-20047\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong>Snakes alive<\/strong> Begin your story with the inciting incident \u2014 the conflict that launches the action and moves your subject to act. To do so, find the desk-pounding moment, begin as close to the action as possible and skip the background information. <em>Image by Sebastian Spindler<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Start your story with the inciting incident \u2014 the conflict that begins the action of the story and causes the hero to act.<\/p>\n<p>Think of the inciting incident as the discovery of the corpse that begins every episode of &#8220;Law &amp; Order.&#8221; Elizabeth George&#8217;s <i>For the Sake of Elena,<\/i> for instance, starts like this:<\/p>\n<h5>\u201cMercifully, the arm was attached to a body.\u201d<\/h5>\n<p>Without this event, there would be no story.<\/p>\n<p>Three tricks for starting with the inciting incident:<\/p>\n<h3>1. Find the \u2018desk-pounding moment.\u2019<\/h3>\n<p>When you\u2019re interviewing for a narrative, look for the &#8220;desk-pounding moment.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>That, according to Ragan Communications editor David Murray, &#8220;is the moment when somebody pounded on his or her desk and said, \u2018Damn it, we\u2019ve got to do something about this.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;That moment is the origin of every corporate program. \u2026 The closer you as a reporter get to the very moment the idea was hatched by a human being, the better your story is going to be.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h3>2. Begin as close to the action as possible.<\/h3>\n<h5>\u201cCome in late and get out early.\u201d<\/h5>\n<h6>\u2014 David Mamet, Tony-nominated playwright of<i> Glengarry Glen Ross<\/i><\/h6>\n<p>A participant in one of my storytelling workshops once shared this advice:<\/p>\n<h5>\u201cIf you\u2019re writing about seeing a snake at a picnic, for gosh sake, start with the snake. Don\u2019t start with fixing the sandwiches.\u201d<\/h5>\n<p>The conflict \u2014 the snake \u2014 is the inciting moment.<\/p>\n<p>So start in the middle of things, at the most dramatic moment of the conflict:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The day the tax bill came<\/li>\n<li>The day the bank called your loan<\/li>\n<li>The day the company shipped its $60,000 circuit board with a <a href=\"http:\/\/revvingupreadership.com\/2010\/06\/scene-setting-in-action\/\">fatal flaw<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>3. Skip the background information.<\/h3>\n<p>And of course, don\u2019t include 40 paragraphs of background information before something actually happens. Do that, and readers won\u2019t stick around long enough to get to the inciting incident.<\/p>\n<div id='MC-ST' class='widgets_on_page wop_tiny1  wop_small1  wop_medium1  wop_large1  wop_wide1'>\n\t\t\t<ul><li id=\"custom_html-19\" class=\"widget_text widget widget_custom_html\"><div class=\"textwidget custom-html-widget\"><a title=\"Master the Art of Storytelling - Ann Wylie's creative-content workshop\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/corporate-communications-training\/writing-classes\/business-storytelling-training\/\" target=\"\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/storytelling-workshop.png\" alt=\"Master the Art of Storytelling - Ann Wylie's creative-content workshop\" title=\"Master the Art of Storytelling - Ann Wylie's creative-content workshop\" width=\"auto\" height=\"auto\" border=\"0\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 250px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 250\/250;float:left; text-align:left; margin: 0 auto; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 1px; margin-bottom: 5px; background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 18x; line-height: 22px; padding: 0px; color: #FFFFFF; max-width:100%; max-height:100%;\" class=\"img-max lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/storytelling-workshop.png\" alt=\"Master the Art of Storytelling - Ann Wylie's creative-content workshop\" title=\"Master the Art of Storytelling - Ann Wylie's creative-content workshop\" width=\"auto\" height=\"auto\" border=\"0\" style=\"float:left; text-align:left; margin: 0 auto; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 1px; margin-bottom: 5px; background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 18x; line-height: 22px; padding: 0px; color: #FFFFFF; max-width:100%; max-height:100%;\" class=\"img-max\"><\/noscript><\/a><h3>How can you tell better business stories?<\/h3>\r\n<p>Stories are so effective that Og Mandino, the late author of the bestselling <em>The Greatest Salesman in the World<\/em>, says, \u201cIf you have a point, find a story.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Learn to find, develop and write stories that engage readers\u2019 hearts and minds in our <a title=\"Master the Art of Storytelling - Ann Wylie's creative-content workshop\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/corporate-communications-training\/writing-classes\/business-storytelling-training\/\" target=\"\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Master the Art of Storytelling workshops<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>There, you\u2019ll learn how to find the aha! moment that\u2019s the gateway to every anecdote. How to start an anecdote with a bang \u2014 instead of a whimper. And how to use \u201cthe most powerful form of human communication\u201d to grab attention, boost credibility, make messages more memorable and communicate better.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div class=\"btn btn--depth\" style=\"text-align: center;  margin: 10px 0 20px; width:100%;\"><a id=\"btnTT\" style=\"\" title=\"BOOK NOW\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/corporate-communications-training\/writing-classes\/business-storytelling-training\/\" target=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-width=\"91\">BOOK NOW<\/a>\r\n<!-- [if mso]>\r\n<p style=\"line-height:0;margin:0;\"><v:roundrect xmlns:v=\"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/corporate-communications-training\/writing-classes\/business-storytelling-training\/\" style=\"width:153px\" arcsize=\"8%\" strokecolor=\"#D96237\" filled=\"t\"><v:fill type=\"gradient\" angle=\"180\" color=\"#f16522\" color2=\"#f16522\"><\/v:fill><v:textbox style=\"mso-fit-shape-to-text:t\" inset=\"0px,11px,0px,11px\"><center style=\"font-size:16px;line-height:24px;color:#FFFFFF;font-family:sans-serif;font-weight:bold;mso-line-height-rule:exactly;mso-text-raise:4px\">BOOK NOW<\/center><\/v:textbox><\/v:roundrect><\/p>\r\n<![endif]--><\/div>\r\n<\/div><\/li><\/ul><\/div><!-- widgets_on_page -->\n<p>___<\/p>\n<p>Sources: Ann Wylie, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/learning-tools\/the-art-of-the-storyteller\/\"><i>The Art of the Storyteller<\/i><\/a><i>,<\/i> Wylie Communications Inc., 2003<\/p>\n<p>David Murray, &#8220;Writing Between the Lines: How to tell good news well: Separate the meat from the fluff,&#8221; <i>Corporate Writer &amp; Editor,<\/i> July 1, 2003<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Find the &#8216;inciting incident&#8217;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":15443,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[66],"tags":[280,118,233],"class_list":{"0":"post-5640","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-storytelling","8":"tag-anecdotes","9":"tag-organizing-copy","10":"tag-story-structure","11":"entry"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v23.4 (Yoast SEO v23.6) - 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