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

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

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

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

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

HOOK THEM @mbbroberg

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

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

CATCHES MY ATTENTION @mbbroberg

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

MAKE ME A PROMISE @mbbroberg

— 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

PERSPECTIVE And point of view @mbbroberg

WHO & HOW @mbbroberg

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

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

NARRATIVE by example @mbbroberg

“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

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

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

STORIES @mbbroberg

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

TRUST @mbbroberg

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

TIME PENDING...

HEADLINE STORY ARC HERO DATA CORROBORATION PAYOFF CALL TO ACTION CHALLENGE

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

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

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

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

CREDITS This presentation template was created by Slidesgo, including icons by Flaticon, and infographics & images by Freepik open@opensource.com or mbroberg@redhat.com or @mbbroberg on Practice your storytelling on OPENSOURCE.COM