“Facts tell, stories sell.”

— Anonymous

The first song the main character sings in a Disney movie — not to mention many other film and stage musicals — is the “I wish” song, reports Ira Glass in a recent episode of “This American Life.”

In the “I wish” song, the protagonist declares what she wants. That motivation launches the story’s action.

• “Funny Girl” starts with Barbara Streisand wishing to be a star.
• “My Fair Lady” opens with Julie Andrews wishing for a room somewhere.
• The “Hunchback of Notre Dame” begins with Quasimodo wishing he could belong “Out There.”
• Steven Sondheim starts “Into the Woods” with six characters declaring their wishes.

What do your characters wish?

The best corporate stories start with a wish, too.

• Nike’s story began with founder Bill Bowerman wishing he could create a shoe sole that would give runners more traction.
• Hallmark Cards started with entrepreneur J.C. Hall wishing to become a postcard salesman.
• Post-it^® Notes began with 3M scientist Art Fry wishing for a bookmark that would stay put in his church hymnal.

Ragan’s David Murray calls these wishes the desk-pounding moment. Disney calls it the “I wish” song. Whatever you call it, it’s a great way to drive action in a story.

What’s your story’s “I wish” song?

Hear Ira Glass sing his “I wish” song.

The news of storytelling’s death has been greatly exaggerated

“Brothers and sisters, we are gathered here today to mourn the death of Story. As you may have heard, it’s kaput — or, at the very least, terminally ill, wracked by videogames, wikis, recaps, talkbacks, YouTube, ADD, and the rise of a multiplatform, multipolar, mashup-media culture. … Beginnings, middles, and ends are headed for the attic, next to the box marked VCR Rewinders/Beastmaster Franchise.”

— Scott Brown, Wired columnist, in “Story Bored”

Brothers and sisters, let’s let Scott Brown mourn the death of Story. We have more interesting things to do — like figuring out the beginning, middle and end for our next blog posting.

For the record, I’m a congenital worrywart (a gene passed down on my mother’s side). And I’m not troubled at all about the demise of storytelling.

Because storytelling is doing fine.

Sob story

Don’t get me wrong. I’ve had my concerns. On the day I found out about Twitter, I had to lie down and put a washcloth over my eyes.

“Really?” I sniffed. “Are we really going to do this in 140 characters or less?”

Luckily for me, that happened to be the same day that a quarter of a million kids lined up around my block. They were there to be first in line to buy the 652-page Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince when my local Barnes & Noble opened at midnight. (And those were the poor folks who weren’t among the 750,000 to preorder the book from Barnes & Noble alone.)

Storytelling dead? Folks, she doesn’t even have the sniffles.

Tweet me a story

And technology’s not about to kill her. Consider:

• iPads and other e-readers actually kindle more linear, narrative reading.
• Some of the best nonfiction stories I’ve ever experienced are on the “This American Life” podcasts I listen to on my iPhone.
• And the cleverest among us — and by that I mean the folks at the FBIPressOffice — have figured out how to write mini-narratives in 140 characters or less. Three of my favorites:

“Gotcha!: Bad Cops Caught, Part II: Five cops go bad in Memphis, Tennessee, and the FBI worked with polic.. http://bit.ly/d4M1h”

“A DANGEROUS BETRAYAL: The Case of the Cash Hungry Contractor: An undercover sting helped prevent a federal energ.. http://tinyurl.com/lzvnrp”

“CANINE CRUELTY: Five-State Dog Fighting Ring Busted: A year-long multi-agency investigation results in approxima.. http://tinyurl.com/mffmh6”

So friends, let’s not waste another instant kvetching about the death of Story. Instead, let’s invest that time in mastering the art of the storyteller.

It’s an art we’ll be able to use for a long, long time.

Master the Art of the Storyteller

Want to put the most powerful form of human communication to work in your very next piece?

• Bring Ann to your organization for a “Art of the Storyteller” workshop.
• Work with Ann to Master the Art of the Storyteller in one-on-one writing coaching sessions.
• Read Ann’s storytelling learning tools.
• Get dozens of tipsheets on storytelling at RevUpReadership.com.
• Find Ann’s out about Ann’s next “Master the Art of the Storyteller” teleseminar.

About Ann Wylie

Ann Wylie is president of Wylie Communications Inc., a training, writing and consulting firm. She works with communicators who want to reach more readers and with organizations that want to get the word out. Wylie is the author of RevUpReadership.com, a toolbox for writers, and Wylie’s Writing Tips, a free e-zine. She has earned more than 60 awards, including two IABC Gold Quills, for her work.

Copyright © 2010 Ann Wylie. All rights reserved.

After 15 years of schlepping books from sea to shining sea, I can now fit all of my reading materials into my purse, thanks to Kindle.

I thought the thing I’d love most about my e-reader would be the extra mini-fridge-sized space it leaves in my luggage for necessities like thick Marimekko sweaters and airport-sized Fazer chocolate bars that I collect on my trips. It turns out that my favorite feature is “My clippings,” a tool that transforms my highlights and notes into text that I can transfer to my laptop.

After a couple of months of reading on a reader, I decided to review my clippings. What I found will help me — and, I hope, you — model the masters, or steal techniques from some of the year’s best writers to make your own writing more creative and compelling.

1. Use metaphor, not modifiers.

One problem with modifiers — thin, lean, straight — is that they don’t paint pictures in your readers’ heads. Instead of simply describing your subject with adjectives and adverbs, engage your readers’ senses with analogy.

Meg Gardiner used this technique to describe a charismatic religious leader in her Edgar Award-winning mystery, China Lake:

“Peter Wyoming didn’t shake hands with people; he hit them with his presence like a rock fired from a sling-shot. He was a human nail, lean and straight with brush-cut hair, and when I first saw him he was carrying a picket sign and enough rage to scorch the ground.”

Find yourself writing an adjective or adverb? Could you develop an analogy instead?

2. Coin a word.

Rebecca Goldstein is quite the neologist. In 36 Arguments for the Existence of God, she creates half-and-half words in this passage:

“Auerbach harbors such impatience for the glib literati—the ‘gliberati,’ as one of his own digerati had christened them—that Cass has wondered whether there might not be some personal history.”

Can’t find just the right word? Why not make one up?

3. Twist a phrase.

To call attention to an idea, change a word or two in a colloquialism to give it new meaning.

After seeing David Mamet’s Boston Marriage hilariously performed by the Kansas City Actors Theatre, I read the play to make sure I didn’t miss any lines like this phrase twister:

“ANNA: Have you taken a vow of arrogance?”

Want to call readers’ attention to your point? Surprise and delight your readers with twist of phrase.

Model the masters

Regardless of your reading technology, modeling the masters is one of the best ways to improve your writing every day. When you find a passage or phrase or word you wish you’d written, clip it, study and master the technique yourself.

The better your reading, the better your writing.

What’s in your clippings?

Make Your Copy More Creative

Want to master the art of making your copy more creative and compelling?

• Read Ann’s learning tools on storytelling, metaphor and human interest.
• Get dozens of tipsheets on creative copy writing at RevUpReadership.com.
• Find Ann’s out about Ann’s next “Master the Art of the Storyteller” teleseminar.
• Bring Ann to your organization for a “Make Your Copy More Creative” workshop.
• Work with Ann to Make Your Copy More Creative in one-on-one writing coaching sessions.

About Ann Wylie

Ann Wylie is president of Wylie Communications Inc., a training, writing and consulting firm. She works with communicators who want to reach more readers and with organizations that want to get the word out. Wylie is the author of RevUpReadership.com, a toolbox for writers, and Wylie’s Writing Tips, a free e-zine. She has earned more than 60 awards, including two IABC Gold Quills, for her work.

Copyright © 2010 Ann Wylie. All rights reserved.