What Disney Taught Me About Writing
By Tim Karney
“It all begins with a story.”
That simple phrase was the cornerstone of Walt Disney’s empire. He understood that stories are an essential part of the lives of every one of us.
We grow up learning by listening to stories. We tell stories to ourselves and to others every day. And the way we tell stories affects how others see us, and how we see ourselves.
As both a freelance content writer and a novelist, I’m constantly looking for ways to improve the way I tell stories. Recently, I watched “The Imagineering Story” on The Disney Channel, and it crystallized several concepts that I think we can all learn from to tell stories that connect with impact.
The team at Disney put forward an “Imagineering Pyramid” which has five tiers of fundamental principles.
The bottom tier of the pyramid has six principles.
1. It All Begins With a Story -The first question I ask myself is “Who is the ideal reader for the story I am telling. In a freelance piece for a technology client that might be a CIO or a Program Manager. For my Amateur Sleuth mystery novels, my research indicates that the average reader of this genre is a college-educated, middle-class female between the ages of 45 to 65. In each case, I try to have a clear picture of one reader in my mind, which helps me understand what they want to get out of the story.
2. Creative Intent–In freelance writing, this involves knowing what action I want the reader to take because of the story. In fiction, I want to know what will deliver the satisfaction the reader wants from uncovering the killer.
3. Attention to Detail–In writing white papers, case studies, and other content, I do extensive background research, interview subject matter experts, and identify the key takeaways the reader should have and present an outline to the client before I write a single word. In my first mystery novel which is set in the Hunt Country of Virginia, I researched equestrian events like polo, show jumping, and riding to hounds. If the details are not believable, the reader will disengage.
4. Theming–In both freelance writing and fiction, I must hook the reader in the opening. Early in my career, I leaned that, “The purpose of the headline is to get the subhead read. The purpose of the subhead is to get the first sentence read, etc., etc., etc.”
5. Long, Medium, and Close Shots–in content writing, leading your audience from the general idea to the specific proof points that convince them to act. In a novel, I build layer on layer of character development, plot points, description and dialogue to make the story compelling, and keep the reader’s interest.
The second tier of the pyramid is Wayfaring. This is focused on guiding the reader to a successful conclusion by making transitions as smooth as possible.
The third tier is Visual Communication. It might seem that the writer doesn’t need to worry about this tier. But a smart content writer knows that a strong hero image, a well-designed infographic, bullet points, and white space may be the difference in enticing a reader to read that content instead of all the other content competing for her attention. Authors learn quickly that the cover design of their book is the single most important marketing device they have.
The fourth tier is Make it Memorable. Our audiences are constantly inundated with content. Social media, TV, websites, emails, podcasts and many other types of content are competing for your reader’s attention. If the business content you write is not memorable, it won’t have the desired impact on your reader or convince them to buy the product or service you are promoting. If the novel I write doesn’t captivate my readers, they won’t buy the sequel.
The top tier of the pyramid is Walt’s Golden Rule. Simply put, a writer must be constantly asking themselves,” How do I make this better?” As a writer of both content and fiction, I have learned to embrace the ugly first draft.
I step away from it for a while. I come back with fresh eyes. I revise it. In the case of a freelance piece, I then send it to the client for comments and revisions. Only once they are satisfied do I write the final draft and send it to production.
I have already done scene revisions and sentence revisions of my novel. I currently have ten beta readers reading and commenting on my novel. Once I have their insights, I’ll revise the story again and step away from it. Then I’ll do line-by-line revisions before having the book proofread and formatted for publishing.
I know that after all that, I still will know the book won’t be perfect. So, I’ll try and write a better book in the sequel.
And so, the story goes on.
