“Take Six: Elements of a Good Digital Story”

The author of the article says that there are 6 basic components to creating a good digital story. The 6 components are:

Living inside your story:
When telling a story, you tell the story in first person while sharing your feelings and thoughts. You must make sure your voice can be clearly heard and that you share with your heart not your head.

Unfolding Lessons Learned:
A good digital story must have an insight into how a particular situation touched your life. It must have a moral or a lesson learned. The ending must give a clear picture of the point of the story.

Developing Creative Tension:
The story must have a good hook that grabs the reader and does not let go until the end. The problem must be paced and a surprise turn of events is a good way to keep your reader’s attention.

Economizing the Story Told:
A good story has a purpose and seeks that purpose by the shortest path available. A digital story should be no more than 3-5 minutes with no more than one page or 500 words. The tail must be short, but still be true to the tail. Use the fewest words and images to make your point.

Showing not telling:
A good storywriter gives a clear, vivid picture in the mind of the reader. Unlike traditional stories, digital stories can have sound or music added to parts of the story.

Develop Craftsmanship:
A good story incorporates technology in skillful ways. The images, sound, voice, color, white space, animations and overall design effectively work as a whole to communicate the story.

This article was very informative. I agree that a good story must have the voice of the writer as well as a good hook. The reader must be able to feel what the writer is experiencing and be able to relate to the writer. Furthermore, the use of technology must not distract from the overall meaning of the story.

Reference:
Take Six: Elements of a Good Digital Story. (2004). Retrieved February 22, 2010, from
http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxjd3UzMTZlZHRlY2h8Z3g6MWQyMTgyMTg3ZDZjYzQ1MA