Film Courage: In your new book [Immersive Storytelling For Real And Imagined Worlds: A Writer’s Guide] you talk about the story method: Share, Theme, One of a Kind, Reflect and Yearn. The acronym is S.T.O.R.Y. What is this and why is it important?
Margaret Kerrison, Immersive Storyteller, Narrative Director and Writer: I was trying to find a way to make it easy for storytellers to remember the five important things to consider when they’re creating their story and the first one is S for story, why share this story with the world? Why is extremely important in trying to understand why tell the story, why do people need to know it and hear it and from your perspective as a storyteller you have to understand that and know the answer to why you’re sharing the story with the world.
T is theme and for any good story there should be a theme. This is what your story is about. When you think about children’s books and fables and fairy tales (some of your favorite ones) you might not know it but there is a recurring theme that occurs throughout the story. Sometimes it’s a lesson, a cautionary tale, it could be something that puts a perspective on your life or someone else’s life but something that you can reflect upon your own life but what is the story about? It’s not just about the plot of this happens to this character and this and this happens in the end. Theme is what is this story about, not in the sense of the plot, but in terms of the real meaning behind it.
The O one of a kind is if you are going to share the story with the world. How is it unique? Can you place a twist upon it? Can you set it in a different environment? Can you have different characters? Can you tell that story in a different culture, in a different world in a different time period so that it feels fresh again because when you think about some of the popular stories…(Watch the video interview on Youtube here).
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BIO:
Born in Indonesia and raised in Singapore, Margaret Kerrison received her Master of Fine Arts degree in Screenwriting from the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts. Her career spans television, film, digital media, games, brand storytelling, location-based entertainment, and immersive experiences. She has worked as a Story Lead, Story Consultant, and Writer for multiple projects around the world, including Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, Star Wars: Launch Bay, Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser, Avengers Campus, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, National Geographic HQ, and the NASA Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex’s Journey to Mars: Explorers Wanted. She was the writer for five projects that won Themed Entertainment Association (THEA) Awards. She has appeared in the Disney+ series Behind the Attraction, the Freeform television special Star Wars: Galaxy‘s Edge – Adventure Awaits, and the online educational program Imagineering in a Box. She was a Disney Imagineer from 2014-2021. She is currently a Sr. Experiential Creative Lead at Airbnb. Immersive Storytelling for Real and Imagined Worlds – A Writer’s Guide is her first book.
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