How to HOOK audience to your STORIES?

Story is a telling of an event to the audience through a medium like verbal, visual, written or a mix of them. Great Stories are those which have a HOOK element.

The 3C Story method, or Controversy, Conflict, and Conspiracy, provides the necessary HOOK element in a story.

The 3C method can be applied to any genre. It doesn't matter if it's a romance, drama, fantasy, mystery, or thriller.

Pick up a story from a Book, Movie or elsewhere.

Step 1: Find out any of the 3C’s – Controversy, Conflict, Conspiracy from it.

Step 2: Add a different 3C into the story.

Let me share the plot of my first book: It’s Destiny, My Love

Genre: Romance is the genre of my story. The plot follows the Protagonist from college to office romance to the creation of his startup. I attempted to use the Hybrid Genre here by incorporating a business element.

Conflict: Because of his friend, the protagonist is forced to leave the organisation where he works. He then struggles to build a startup that will change the computing industry's landscape.

Conspiracy: The protagonist's friend accuses him of stealing the design of his new invention.

Structure has 3 basic acts : the beginning, middle and the end as shown in this diagram. You can however add more acts in your structure. The beginning is the shortest while the middle takes the biggest part of the story.

•Beginning is about the background or setting up the story. This is about 10% of the total length of the story. You have to bowl the audience in this time such that they remain with you till the end.

•Middle is the time where you build the story until it reaches the highest point of resistance or climax. It generally takes 10-80% of space.

•End: Once the story has reached its peak. Now is the time for the resolution. The END takes the balance 20% of the space.

The introduction of 3C’s in the beginning should bring a BIG Impact to the story. This mystery will keep the audience hold onto the end. If it is not worth it then audience will lose interest.

You may choose any form of narratives linear, non linear, circular , parallel but you have to make unfolding of the story EXCITING so as to maintain and even deepen the engagement. Add layers to your story …turn by turn step by step unfold these layer till they all build up till the climax.

Write down a short story (250-500 words) on any of the following topics

•Your first love

•Your biggest challenge of life

The things you have to keep in your mind

-The emotional connect in the story

-Introduction of 3C elements

-Climax and Resolution

Share with your friends and family. Take feedback.

Rewrite …Please understand that storytelling is all about taking feedback and rewriting.

Let's talk about a famous character, Harry Potter, to understand the process of building real life and relatable characters.

Make them as real as possible: pick up characters from the world around you…someone whom you met in your school, college, office, society basically real-life people. The background is that people from real-life would look real in your stories. The audience will be able to connect with them.

The story starts from an idea. Idea is the inception stage. It is the seed sown in the ground which takes up the shape of a full fledged tree.

Idea is critical to the story as story is woven around it. If the idea is not potent then how would the story be.

Define the different elements as explained in the video to form your next story!

Let me give you all these parameters for one of my story: It's destiny my love

• Who: The story is about Aditya. Aditya is born and brought up in New Delhi. He then pursues engineering from a college in Pune.

• When: The story is in the present. It covers around 10 years of Aditya's life from college to becoming an entrepreneur.

• With: The story revolves around Aditya's love interest Vandana and Rashmi, parents,  friends Param, Sandeep and his boss Kumar Saab.

• Where: Delhi, Pune India

• What: The story is about the struggle and transformation of Aditya from a naïve corporate executive to becoming a successful entrepreneur.

• The 3C elements are Conflict and Conspiracy.

Remember the story is not about idea alone but how you treat the idea, how you present it, how do you weave the other components of story around it and most important how well you infuse the 3C element in it.

The audience wants something unique...something that surprises them, something that connects them, something that unfolds in front of them, and something that transports them to another world entirely.

Let's understand some of the critical elements of a story like the connect, passion, message, co-travel and entertainment.

Let's understand more about the plot, characters, struggle, climax and the end.

I will discuss a story written by me titled: When They Decided To MOVE ON!

Let me share the synopsis of the story with you.

Logline

A heartbreaking story about Vivaan, whose parents ask him to choose between them.

Synopsis

Set in a world where relationships last until you hear, “It isn’t working anymore.” This story brings to the fore the curious change in the relationship between Vivaan and his family.

It’s a heart-touching tale of Vivaan, whose ordeal starts when his parents announce that they are on the verge of separation. In a surprise move, they ask him to choose between one of the parents. He has to stay three months each with his father and his mother before making the final call.

Vivaan wants his family back. He wants his mother’s care and the positive presence of his father. However, his grandparents are not interested. The relentless struggle during this six-month period leaves him heartbroken and helpless.

Will Vivaan succeed in bringing his family back together? Will his parents keep aside their ego and come back together, if not for themselves, for his sake at least?

Read the story about love, family and an unbreakable bond between a child and his parents.

With this we end this training. Lets revisit what we have all learned