4 Exceptional Resources for Storytelling Inspiration

2 minute read

Upland Admin

Robot reading in the library_Storytelling resources from The Content Marketeer

Image by kodomut via Flickr

Whether you attended the 2012 South by Southwest Interactive Conference or just followed attendees on Twitter, you know content, and content marketing in particular, created a good deal of buzz. Not surprisingly, along with an increased focus on content came pleas and how-tos for better storytelling.

While stories vary widely across organizations—from product and brand stories to those based on customer and audience interests—the art and craft of storytelling must be honed regularly, especially in an era of consistently evolving technology. In that sense, nothing beats regular practice.

But not far behind is the act of consuming stories—that is, regularly reading, watching, and listening to the work of today’s best. For that, I’ve put together this list of (mostly nonfiction-based) storytelling resources content professionals should follow if you’re serious about finding and telling stories that will have an impact:

Read

Longreads: With contributions from featured curators as well as its reader community, Longreads acts as a clearinghouse of sorts for various forms of storytelling—including long-form journalism and short stories, among others—via RSS, Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr. The service is free, but consider giving back by purchasing a very affordable membership if you find yourself following it often.

Nieman Storyboard: This project of Harvard’s Nieman Foundation for Journalism is dedicated to storytelling across various mediums. To better understand narrative art and craft—and offer better direction and feedback to your own storytellers—keep tabs on the “Why’s this so good?” series and articles in Essays on Craft.

Watch

Media Storm: Boasting high-profile corporate, nonprofit, and media clients, Media Storm’s “cinematic narratives” merit superlative praise, as the multimedia production studio’s awards page exhibits. For those serious about creating powerful and polished video storytelling, Media Storm offers regular training opportunities, both online and off.

Listen

Transom: Even if you don’t produce podcasts, listening to stories is one of the most convenient ways to consume them. Rather than subscribing to individual podcasts, Transom is perhaps the best one-stop shop for keeping up with new storytellers in the public radio space, where arguably the best works in the medium are being produced (think This American Life, Planet Money, and Radio Lab, to name just a few).

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