Storytelling Masterclass for Writers
- Description
- Curriculum
- FAQ
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Working with a man who is a published author, screenwriter, producer, story consultant and Ph.D. academic of story theory, you will learn how to elevate your writing to exceptional levels in your books, screenplays, blogs, essays, business and marketing copy, through your mastery of story theory.
“Everyone who works with story needs to know what David knows.” (Alex Marx – Writer/Director: The Queen of Fashion)
You will receive essential knowledge for professional screenwriting, scriptwriting, creative writing, books and even marketing with story. Every author and screenwriter needs to know this. Further material on packaging and selling yourself and your stories to publishers and producers in the book and film industries.
We will look at the role of the author where we understand the key question dynamic, Aristotle’s principles and what happens when characters make plans. Then onto the ultimate story dynamic, storification. the critical dynamic that makes a story a story. Then the story development process. Once the seeds begin to blossom, you will know how to guide the story threads?
“David’s discoveries are a game changer for writers.”
KRIS MOLE (Author: Gatecrashing Europe)
We deep dive into story in twenty video lectures and use clips and short films and book extracts to give you a complete understanding of how stories work.
This course is based on my Ph.D. thesis in story theory, my five best selling books on the subject and the course content I have given live to academic and commercial audiences, charging as much as £2000 for live delivery.
I have used my understanding of story to build a career in books and film. There is nothing stopping you from doing the same.
“David is the new Aristotle.”
Craig Hinde, Writer/Producer/Director
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1IntroductionVideo lesson
You have talent. You have passion. You would love to get published and produced. You are prepared to work hard… and this is the key. There are millions - and millions - of writers who are fighting for the same prizes you want. The winners will be the writers that work hard on the right things. Write with your heart, rewrite with your head. You provide the 'heart' bit, and I'll help you use your head to elevate your stories to commercial winners.
“Every session David gives provides another ‘eureka moment’ for me; another sudden insight into ways to improve my stories and find direction for me as a writer.” Lorraine Faulkener - Writer
“Receiving a publishing deal was a dream turned reality. In my acknowledgement page is written: David Baboulene: I did it, and you are a heck of a teacher!” Kerri Cuevas; author Deadly Kisses (2013).
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2Introduction some more...Video lesson
“David Baboulene is the new Aristotle. He is truly a master when it comes to the science behind storytelling.” Craig Hinde (Producer/Director)."
"David Baboulene is a genius!" Marc Zammit (Producer/Director)
"David is the Story Ninja!" Nick Wild (Writer/Producer/Director)
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3Now, make yourself at home.Video lesson
"David's research into how stories overlap with the way the brain works is revolutionary, and can benefit every writer on the planet. Once you have learnt David's approach, will never write in quite the same way again. David’s discoveries are a game changer for writers."
KRIS MOLE (Author Gatecrashing Europe, 2012)
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4CLICK BELOW for an awesome 80-second story I use to demonstrate story dynamicsText lesson
Eighty seconds of extraordinary story telling.
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5What is a story? Why do stories exist?Video lesson
What is a story? What is a narrative? What is it about stories that makes them so powerful in our lives?
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6The Substance of Story: Knowledge Gaps and SubtextVideo lesson
Knowledge gaps are the substance of stories. All stories are made from knowledge gaps. Every story. including yours. And SUBTEXT - the absolute life blood of intrigue and grip - is the knowledge that goes into the gaps. Understand this and you understand story.
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7The Key Question DynamicVideo lesson
Every question is, of course, a knowledge gap between that question and the answer. In this lecture we will learn the fundamental role of questions, and one in particular that is the most common and fundamental of story dynamics.
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8The Hollywood Formula (Featuring Turning Points)Video lesson
The Hollywood Formula became ubiquitous for many years. Fortunately, not so much now.
Well worth knowing about - if only to break the 'rules' knowingly!
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9Aristotle's PrinciplesVideo lesson
Aristotle was, I guess, the first Story Consultant! He came up with his principles more than 2,300 years ago, and they not only still hang together today, they are powerful and applicable and well worth knowing about and using in your stories. His principles are there to be seen in the Frozen trailer and - get this - are used 25 times in Back to the Future!
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10Privilege and RevelationVideo lesson
Without a receiver there is no story - there is narrative, but no story - so all knowledge gaps are measured from the audience perspective. For a knowledge gap to exist, the audience either knows more than another participant in the story - a privilege dynamic - or they know less than another participant in the story, a revelation dynamic. This is true of every knowledge gap, and the finest stories tend to have a balance of privilege and revelation.
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11ConflictVideo lesson
There ARE stories without conflict. Indeed, I wrote one (and filmed it - you'll see it later). However, conflict is a staple of the vast majority of fine stories, and it's critical you understand it. So in this lecture, we look at the four levels of conflict and - most importantly - the role of dilemma and the way to ensure that this is meaningful conflict.
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12Back to the Future - Conflict ArchitectureVideo lesson
OK, so following on from the conflict seminar, let's take a deeper dive into a specific example: the conflict architecture of Back to the Future.
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13When Characters Make PlansVideo lesson
Most well-crafted characters have a plan (or maybe suffer from the plans of others).
And every plan gives you three knowledge gaps for the price of one.
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14The NarratorVideo lesson
The 'narrational position' is a fascinating subject in story.
Whenever I am consulting on a story, one of the list of things I always examine is the narrational position and the possibilities that arise from adding a narrator. It can be incredibly powerful.
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15The Story WorldVideo lesson
When people open a book or sit down in a cinema they want to be taken somewhere. The power of the story world you create cannot be overvalued. It's hugely important and can be the making of your story.
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16BackstoryVideo lesson
Backstory is generally required, but also tricky. Too much backstory and your audience starts to fidget and get bored. Too little and the story might not make proper sense. This video shows you how to turn backstory into just more story.
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17Plot and CharacterVideo lesson
The perennial argument: Which is most important: Plot or character?
Well, you need both. And - get this - if you are writing at your best, plot and character become one and the same thing!
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18Protagonist and AntagonistVideo lesson
Who is your protagonist? What do you do if you feel you have more than one protagonist? Or more characters that could be the protagonist? What are the forces of antagonism railed against them?
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19Character MotivationVideo lesson
We address the five elements of character, and the six questions to ask of ALL your characters to understand their motivation and deliver them with integrity.
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20Example: Frozen - MotivationVideo lesson
A deeper dive into the Frozen trailer to work through the elements of character and the six questions to ask of all your characters.
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21Inner and Outer ArcsVideo lesson
There is a difference between a character's actions, words and presentation to the world... and the truth of what they are thinking and planning on the inside. This is true of people in life and in story.
This is a critical and wonderful difference to understand and use.
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22Action and DialogueVideo lesson
If you think about it, every story can be reduced to action and dialogue, so understanding how to ensure they are used to create knowledge gaps is somewhat important!
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23SubterfugeVideo lesson
Subterfuge doesn't just mean hiding something. It includes all forms of lies and deceit and even apparently innocent dynamics, for example, the knowledge that Marty McFly is a time traveller from the future throughout his time in 1955. We in the audience know this, but none of the 1955 characters do. Or that Walter What IS Heisenberg.
Subterfuge is a very common and hugely powerful knowledge gap dynamic.
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24The Role of the ReceiverVideo lesson
Storification is the ultimate story dynamic. It's the meaning of your story in the mind of the receiver that they build for themselves having received your narration.
This is the critical dynamic that makes a story a story.
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25The Surpassing AimVideo lesson
The surpassing aim is the outcome of the characters deep inner desires. They have been chasing the answer (probably the answer to the key question) throughout the story, and when they get to the end, what they get may well be more or different from that original motivation. A hugely powerful dynamic, often facilitating that wonderful thing we all recognise, a revelation - or a nice twist - in the tail of a story.
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26Character GrowthVideo lesson
Possibly the most important of all knowledge gaps, the character moving up - or down - the ladder of life through the decisions they make and the outcomes their actions and choices harvest in a story is often the basis of the story's ultimate power.
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27True Lies and Declared Fiction…Video lesson
If we learn something true from a story, is it still fiction?! A narrative is bedded down as a memory if it hangs together logically, not truthfully. It still becomes a memory. This is how we can plant memories in a receiver's mind.
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28Metaphor and AllegoryVideo lesson
Every story is a metaphor writ large, and every metaphor is a story in miniature.
To understand metaphor is to understand story.
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29The Moral ArgumentVideo lesson
Some say a moral argument is the definition of a story. I wouldn't go that far, but if you have a moral argument at the centre of your story, firstly, you can be pretty sure you have great potential for powerful story, and secondly, there are excellent story dynamics implied by the morality at question you can use to structure your story to deliver it to its optimal power.
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30Recognition and Cultural AllusionVideo lesson
Possibly the least well-known, documented or used of story dynamics, and yet, as you will see in the examples in this video, Recognition and Cultural Allusion can be used to make some of the finest and most sophisticated stories around.
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31The Story Development Process - IntroductionVideo lesson
How to strike a balance between writing from the heart and guiding with your head...
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32Story Development. The Seed Grows…Video lesson
Once the seeds begin to blossom, how do you know what to do to guide the story threads?
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33Bella - A Love StoryVideo lesson
Bella is the film I made to demonstrate that story-telling is about characters, their motivation, inner and outer arcs, their decisions, their growth and the outcomes. These do not necessarily require conflict, spectacle, a 'bad guy' or even dialogue. Come with me to drop in and experience a slice of Johanna's life, and see what you feel.
There is a book that charts the journey from the first seeds to the final product up there on the silver screen.
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