writing & storytelling
AJ Tibando
1d
When I started writing, my sister gave me this advice:
“Don’t tell people what to think, why it matters or what they should do about it - just tell them your story. Talk about what you learned but don’t tell them what they should learn. They’ll either learn it by listening or aren’t interested in learning. And if they’re not interested, ... See more
1d
When I started writing, my sister gave me this advice:
“Don’t tell people what to think, why it matters or what they should do about it - just tell them your story. Talk about what you learned but don’t tell them what they should learn. They’ll either learn it by listening or aren’t interested in learning. And if they’re not interested, ... See more
Substack • Home | Substack
Rob Tourtelot added 14d
I’m always searching for mystery, something unexpected and dissonant, something to be curious about.
Jon Ronson | Substack
Rob Tourtelot added 3mo
by gems I do NOT mean the author’s ideas or theories. Those are the last things we want. We want to form our own ideas. By gems I mean a little glimpse of something surprising and dissonant and mysterious – a person or a situation or a moment in history where you think, ‘I didn’t expect that ’ or ‘I don’t understand that , I’d like to go down a rab... See more
Jon Ronson • Jon Ronson | Substack
Rob Tourtelot added 3mo
a good story, by definition, has to be smarter than the person who wrote it. Because if it’s less smart, that means the writer wasn’t writing a story but assembling a piece of Ikea furniture. Most of the masterpieces I’ve encountered were smarter than their creators, and often more decent and purely good than them, too.
Etgar Keret • So you think you can tell?
Rob Tourtelot added 4mo
FEH, my newest memoir (more details about that soon), began with my wanting to write about the rampant judgementalism and sneering contempt I was seeing all around me. It takes on God, Jesus, Paul Rudd, Nextdoor, social media, Schopenhauer, Wolf Blitzer and Yuval Noah Harari. And even with all those sacred cows, it felt bland... until I decided to ... See more
Sacred Cows Make the Best Burgers
Rob Tourtelot added 5mo
The most sacred cows are the ones that are sacred to ourselves.
That’s the catch.
As I got older, I realized that the books that stuck with me for decades where the ones in which the writer held a mirror up to himself - his shame, his self-loathing, his prejudice, his hatred, his fear, his anxiety - all that sacred stuff we don't want to admit we fee... See more
That’s the catch.
As I got older, I realized that the books that stuck with me for decades where the ones in which the writer held a mirror up to himself - his shame, his self-loathing, his prejudice, his hatred, his fear, his anxiety - all that sacred stuff we don't want to admit we fee... See more
Sacred Cows Make the Best Burgers
Rob Tourtelot added 5mo
Much as working with a piano teacher is not, fundamentally, about learning songs, but about using songs to push yourself; I now think of our projects, not as ends in themselves, but as means to help us improve the underlying process and ourselves. This helps put me in the right frame of mind. I want this essay to turn out well, of course. But the g... See more
On limitations that hide in your blindspot
Rob Tourtelot added 6mo
The audience wants characters (or storytellers) to succeed, but they don’t really want characters to succeed. It’s struggle and strife that make stories great. They want to see their characters ultimately triumph, but they want suffering first. They don’t want anything to be easy.
Dan Kennedy • Storyworthy: Engage, Teach, Persuade, and Change Your Life through the Power of Storytelling
Rob Tourtelot added 6mo
If you’re not sure about the level of stakes in your story, simply ask yourself: • Would the audience want to hear my next sentence? • If I stopped speaking right now, would anyone care? • Am I more compelling than video games and pizza and sex at this moment?
Dan Kennedy • Storyworthy: Engage, Teach, Persuade, and Change Your Life through the Power of Storytelling
Rob Tourtelot added 6mo
if I tell exactly the story I’ve set out to tell, I’ve failed. The truer story exists somewhere outside the margins of consciousness. Writing constraints help us discover the truth rather than recite it.
The One (and Only) Technique That Finally Helped Me Write About Trauma
Rob Tourtelot added 6mo