How to Tell a Story Donald Miller

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PART FOUR How to use stories to connect
story is the most powerful tool you can use to connect with another human being. Whether we’re recapping our day or telling our kids bed-time stories, our deepest selves reach out and connect through the recounting of events. Here are some of the different ways I use story structure in my life and work: WRITING A BOOK If I’m writing a book, I use the same structure I presented in this eBook, only I repeat it over and over. Often, I’ll repeat this plot structure several times within a chapter, almost like a wheel turning around, then I’ll wrap up the chapter with either a happy or a tragic ending. And each of the chapters fits into a greater epic that, hopefully, is the story or theme of the book. And so my books are simply little stories within a larger story. Each chapter could be considered a subplot, if you will. For instance, if I’m writing the book about the creative process, I may use the epic story of having to wrap up a screenplay for an unruly producer. If I don’t get it done, I don’t get to collect the rest of the advance. So, within chapter one I use a subplot story of how I overcame procrastination, then in chapter two I tell a story about how I learned to develop a character and so on and so on. So there’s the big story and then the smaller stories that feed into the big story. Make sense? Feel free to use the same plot structure, though, whether it’s your epic story or your sub plot. In fact, as you outline your book, just come up with as many stories as you can using the same structure, then place them into different topical chapters. You’ll be surprised at how quickly your list of stories starts looking like a full book. 27
Page 1 and 2: HOW TO TELL A STORY BY DONALD MILLE
Page 3 and 4: INTRODUCTION Why does story matter?
Page 5 and 6: The power stories have on the brain
Page 7 and 8: PART ONE A good story doesn’t hap
Page 9 and 10: You can think of story plots the wa
Page 11 and 12: or purposes of brevity, in this eBo
Page 13 and 14: THE HUNGER GAMES In the first The H
Page 15 and 16: If the elements were more dramatic
Page 17 and 18: ood storytellers do not break the r
Page 19 and 20: Examples of Philosophical Problems:
Page 21 and 22: 4. AND GIVES THEM A PLAN When the h
Page 23 and 24: 6. THAT RESULTS IN SUCCESS In story
Page 25: A STORY MUST BE CLEAR There are a t
Page 29 and 30: INTRODUCING MYSELF When somebody as
Page 31 and 32: We are all on a journey, of course.
Page 33 and 34: tory, in some ways, is still as mys

How to Tell a Story Donald Miller

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