Why Strong Context Makes For Great Storytelling
It may seem fairly obvious that our stories live in the world — in a very particular moment in space and time.
Yet one way we often shortchange ourselves -and our audience- is to leave this all-important context out of our stories.
Context tells your audience why the story matters. It’s one of the first tenets of good journalism. When your audience knows what the stakes are, they can relate to the story more.
Context also helps your audience to locate themselves. It’s grounding and makes them feel in safe hands.
In a conversation, context is what helps someone understand why something is important to you. A difficult conversation can be made much smoother this way.
Some easy ways to think about context in your stories.
Bring in the bigger picture context. Our personal stories are always woven into the larger story of the times we live in. We are both a product of and a response to the systems we are a part of. However, the way that the wider story impacts the personal one is always unique — and therein lies magic.
Covid has reminded us of this.
We all share the context of living through a global pandemic and yet that experience is impacting each of our lives in very individual ways. Personally, the isolation of lockdown was the push I needed to leave Brighton city life. I decided to live closer to nature, work outdoors with people and learn about regenerative agriculture. Making the move is my story, yes, and Covid is the all-important context in which it happened.
Use it to set the scene. Context can be a powerful way to open a story. A little goes a very long way. For example: “It was a bright, cold day in April and the clocks were striking thirteen.” George Orwell sets the scene and establishes the dystopia of 1984, all in one simple sentence. Or JRR Tolkien’s starter: “In a hole in the ground, there lived a hobbit.”
Remember that nature is our context. Context also asks us to think about the other-than-human aspects of a story. One task I often give storytellers is to retell their story from the perspective of a natural being in the story — a tree, a bird, even the wind. It can feel a little awkward at first but your alter-protagonist will soon reveal interesting and unexpected perspectives that can then enrich your story.
Wake up your senses! A little sensory detail is key to the richness of any story. It transports your audience to that place and time. We live in a predominantly visual culture so it can take a little discipline to find the smells, sounds or textures in your story. Take the time — the story will be so much more evocative for it.
Thinking about context helps take us out of our microscopic “I” focus. It’s one way in which we can include our audience — the context you give high schoolers may be very different from a group of business professionals, for example. It’s also a gratifying invitation to reflect on the ways in which we are all connected.
++ VISIBILITY, my flagship content creation and storytelling program starts March 2nd. www.pelinturgut.com for more.
