Storyteller Tactics Review: System
Storyteller Tactics Review: The System Explained
How it all works
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- Let me tell you a story
- How’s that bestselling novel coming along, Britni?
- Here’s your chance. And mine.
- Point One: Storyteller Tactics kill procrastination
- Point Two: Storyteller Tactics is your sure guide
- Point Three: Storyteller Tactics is organised so you will be too
- Point Four: Storyteller Tactics won’t abandon you
- And why is this important?
Let me tell you a story
A couple of years ago I lost a friend. A lovely man, clever, witty, well-read, and thoughtful.
Poor impulse control, though. He would buy things he wanted and consume them without too much thought for the consequences.
A drinker, of course - though I never ever saw him drunk - and that combined with junk food was what did for him.
I helped his widow clean out his stuff and there were icy fingers gripping my heart as my own hands sorted shelf after shelf of books into boxes.
These were books on self-improvement, health, and education. The man could have reinvented himself as a writer, an artist, or a craftsman. An athlete. He had all the books to do any of these things and more lined up on his packed shelves.
He never did. Just bought the books, read them once and put them aside.
How’s that bestselling novel coming along, Britni?
I have all the classic textbooks on writing. Stephen King is somewhere in my garage. Joseph Campbell is on my iPad. A couple of minutes hunting and I piled up a few books on storytelling.
I’ve read them — of course — but have I really taken them in and pressed the “Bestseller” button inside myself?
Not really. Made a few starts and set each one aside for later.
How about you, Dear Reader?
Here’s your chance. And mine.
Forget the books. Here they are, distilled into a system and put into your hands. What more do you want? What more do I need?
Seriously now, while the books on storytelling and writing are great resources and I think every writer should read them at least once in their career, consider what you should do when you have the urge to write.
Should you hump out all the textbooks and page through them? Work your way through that shelf of top-notch advice, get everything just exactly right before you start?
Or perhaps put together some ideas in your head, toss them around, see what fits, see what flashes of lightning pop out, see if you can put together a framework, a path for you to follow when you come along later with a keyboard putting the words on the page.
Point One: Storyteller Tactics kill procrastination
This is my Number One takeaway from the system.
If you are leafing through a book on storytelling, you might as well be relaxing in an easy chair with a fresh cup of coffee and a cat on your lap. Your brain is just floating along.
If you are laying out the Storyteller Tactics cards on the table, you are working. Your mind is engaged. You are there in the middle of telling the story, exploring alternate paths, shuffling the characters and the plot and the themes like cards and looking for connections.
Read this blog post on the Pip Decks site:
That, right there, is why the system works. It works because you are working not dreaming.
Point Two: Storyteller Tactics is your sure guide
There are 54 working cards in the deck. Each one is chock full of distilled wisdom, graphics, symbols, links, and explanations.
They are busy busy busy.
You could get lost in there, go around in circles, and get muddled, right?
Wrong!
It’s a system and the very first card in the deck is your guide and helper.
From beginning to end you have choices. You don’t need every card in the deck. Like the shelf full of books, it’s good to have all those resources but for your story, you will be taking just one path through the possibilities because that’s what your audience expects.
As Steve Rawling says, it’s a “Choose Your Own Adventure” journey. Set aside that card with the plain black border, answer the simple questions and choose what you need for your next step from the colour-coded option cards.
Follow the guide. These are not random questions in random order. They are your road map from an uncertain start to a decisive finish.
Watch the video in this next link:
Steve is full of confidence in the system. He knows how it works. You are the storytelling hero, making the decisions, fighting the battles, and reaping the rewards. Steve and the system he designed is the wise guide - Gandalf, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Professor Dumbledore — who can give you the advice you need to make good choices.
Point Three: Storyteller Tactics is organised so you will be too
Every road map, every information guide, and every recipe book has a section right up front showing the important things and how to recognise them.
A legend box with symbols for parks and food outlets and restrooms and lookouts. What do you need next? A great picture to post on social media? Look for the camera symbol. Need refreshment? Hunt down the place marked with a steaming cup of coffee.
The best systems are so simple you don’t even notice them. They are just there and they just work.
The Storyteller Tactics cards are colour-coded and marked with symbols so you don’t have to hunt through every card looking for the one you want, the one you think holds your next step.
Need to work out your narrative arc? There and back, rags to riches, rollercoaster action; aim for the blue-bordered “Structure” cards marked with a pyramid symbol.
Your next step is highlighted for you. Just follow the signs.
Point Four: Storyteller Tactics won’t abandon you
The system won’t lead you into the middle of the Hopeless Forest and leave you stranded.
Every card links to at least one other. You always have a next step.
Some cards are Recipe cards. They give you five other cards that will do a certain task. Sell, Convince, Explain, Impress: all you need are five cards and you base your story on them.
The system is your wise guide. It is there with you every step of the way as you map out your story. It’s been there before and knows what comes next, you see.
And why is this important?
It’s easy to see your task of presenting to management, writing a novel, and writing a landmark blog post as something monolithic, something so important and immense that you have to get it right.
And you could be right. Some things are important. Some tasks lay out your core beliefs, your goals in life, your need to be a leader or a winner.
The Storyteller Tactics system points you in the right direction, gets you moving, is there when you need guidance, and is with you all the way to the finish.
It isn’t something you sit on the shelf and admire. It isn’t something for the mystical future. It gets you doing the things you need to get done now.
What are you waiting for?
Britni
Use my discount code BRITNIPEPPER to get 15% off. I get a few dollars in return. The bold links above are affiliates, same deal. Or just go to the website, no strings attached, look around, discover the system for yourself.
My review series is free. I explore the cards, the systems, the tactics, link to independent reviews, and even show you how to get every word, every diagram, every dot point on every card for free, without paying a cent, with the blessing of the firm.
I believe in these cards. They are the wisdom of storytellers, passed on from ages past. The tactics work. They are a secret guide in the palm of your hand, and while they are expensive, they come with a money back guarantee.
Britni
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