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TIPS FOR CHAOS STORIES Writing stories people want to listen to. Matt Broberg @mbbroberg

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HEY! I’m Matt. I love telling stories about technology and the communities that build it. @mbbroberg

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Readers in October 1,950,000 Your daily source of open source Opensource.com Authors this year alone 273 Articles per month 82 new @mbbroberg

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— from here “Clear writing is clear thinking.” @mbbroberg

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CORE TAKEAWAYS HOOK THEM Have one or offer a TL;DR to make it worth their while. PERSPECTIVE Decide on a point of view, then enrich it with emotion. NARRATIVE Use tools to immerse the reader in a story. @mbbroberg

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HOOK THEM @mbbroberg

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Readers have a lot of options. They’re wondering: ● Is this link worth clicking? ● Why should I care? ● What’s in it for me? And our goal is to have answers for them. @mbbroberg

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We have options: ● Is this link worth clicking? ● Why should I care? ● What’s in it for me? And our goal is to have answers for them. ANSWERS THE QUESTION @mbbroberg

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CATCHES MY ATTENTION @mbbroberg

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4,498,300,010 Or use big numbers to catch your audience’s attention @mbbroberg

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MAKE ME A PROMISE @mbbroberg

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— analysis from Opensource.com “The listicle headline promises understandable segments or actionable insights. When that headline delivers, trust is built between us and our readers.” @mbbroberg

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PERSPECTIVE And point of view @mbbroberg

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WHO & HOW @mbbroberg

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PERSPECTIVE (how) FIRST PERSON Use “I,” “me,” and “we” in your writing. EXCITED The protagonist is curious and playful about what’s happening SURPRISED Starting with the question “How in the world did this happen? SECOND PERSON Writing to “you.” Less common but can be powerful. THIRD PERSON “They,” “them” (“her,” “him”). Common, like the cold. Avoid: Disappointed (“should have”), superior (“obviously”), reductionist (hindsight bias) POV (who) @mbbroberg

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New: First person perspective are our top performing articles. @mbbroberg

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NARRATIVE by example @mbbroberg

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“There are fires, and there are tire fires, and then there was this.” “DNS hates me, and I know it’s personal.” “We thought the SQL query would be another drop in the bucket of our DBaaS, but it was more like a firehorse of JOIN statements.” “It sent a jolt down my spine.” “My palms started sweating at the discovery of a default password.” “I could taste the mischief.” “Using the cuddly kubectl, I dove into the pod state.” Themes - Simile and metaphor - Personification - Evoke the five senses - Hyperbole to draw attention - Vivid imagery - Colloquial or playful NARRATIVE @mbbroberg

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NARRATIVE THEMES @mbbroberg From: https://www.gremlin.com/community/tutorials/planning-your -own-chaos-day/

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NARRATIVE THEMES https://brainfall.com/quizzes/which-care-bear-are-you/

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STORIES @mbbroberg

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CORE TAKEAWAYS HOOK THEM Have one or offer a TL;DR to make it worth their while. PERSPECTIVE Decide on a point of view, then enrich it with emotion. NARRATIVE Use tools to immerse the reader in a story. Then add - data - images - outcomes - call to action @mbbroberg

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TRUST @mbbroberg

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— from here “Clear writing is clear thinking.” @mbbroberg

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TIME PENDING...

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HEADLINE STORY ARC HERO DATA CORROBORATION PAYOFF CALL TO ACTION CHALLENGE

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HEADLINE CHALLENGE HERO DATA CORROBORATION PAYOFF CALL TO ACTION What you’re saying STORY ARC

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HEADLINE RELEVANCE URGENCY HERO DATA CORROBORATION PAYOFF CALL TO ACTION What you’re saying RESOLUTION CONFIDENCE AGREEMENT STORY ARC CHALLENGE

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HEADLINE RELEVANCE URGENCY HERO DATA CORROBORATION PAYOFF CALL TO ACTION What you’re saying RESOLUTION CONFIDENCE AGREEMENT STORY ARC CHALLENGE What you want people to be feeling

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HEADLINE RELEVANCE URGENCY HERO DATA CORROBORATION PAYOFF CALL TO ACTION RESOLUTION CONFIDENCE AGREEMENT STORY ARC CHALLENGE

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CREDITS This presentation template was created by Slidesgo, including icons by Flaticon, and infographics & images by Freepik [email protected] or [email protected] or @mbbroberg on Practice your storytelling on OPENSOURCE.COM