Storytelling 101 It's no great secret storytelling is a powerful...
Andrew Gould@AndrewWriteCopy
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Apr 11, 2025
~3 min read
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Storytelling 101
It's no great secret storytelling is a powerful tool for sales and copywriting.
But what's not as well known is that effective storytelling has its own unique writing pattern.
And I'm going to share that with you right now.
// THREAD //
It's no great secret storytelling is a powerful tool for sales and copywriting.
But what's not as well known is that effective storytelling has its own unique writing pattern.
And I'm going to share that with you right now.
// THREAD //
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(Warning: this is going to get a little technical and nerdy, but it will be worth it for anyone who writes, or wants to write, stories in their copy)
Effective storytelling is based on cause and effect.
That is, the idea one event is the result of another event.
For example...
Effective storytelling is based on cause and effect.
That is, the idea one event is the result of another event.
For example...
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Cause - The temperature plummeted.
Effect - Andrew put on his hat and gloves.
Putting on the clothes was a result of the cold temperature.
And this is the building block for writing a story:
Something happens therefore something else happens.
In writing it's known as...
Effect - Andrew put on his hat and gloves.
Putting on the clothes was a result of the cold temperature.
And this is the building block for writing a story:
Something happens therefore something else happens.
In writing it's known as...
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A Motivation Reaction Unit (MRU).
The cause is the motivation, the effect is the reaction, together the pair form the unit.
Now let's look at how you write them...
The cause is the motivation, the effect is the reaction, together the pair form the unit.
Now let's look at how you write them...
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You start with a motivation sentence.
This something that happens to your character that's important enough for them to respond to.
For example:
The dog's growl turns into a bark.
Then you have a reaction sentence.
This is how your character responds to the motivation...
This something that happens to your character that's important enough for them to respond to.
For example:
The dog's growl turns into a bark.
Then you have a reaction sentence.
This is how your character responds to the motivation...
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For example:
Sam starts to back away.
And putting them together:
The dog's growl turns into a bark. Sam starts to back away.
And that's it.
The benefits of this technique are...
Sam starts to back away.
And putting them together:
The dog's growl turns into a bark. Sam starts to back away.
And that's it.
The benefits of this technique are...
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It's simple, it drives your story forward, gives it a logical flow, and makes sure your reader won't lose track of what's going on.
And to turn it into a story all you have to do is rinse and repeat.
You follow one MRU with another, and another, and so on.
A quick example...
And to turn it into a story all you have to do is rinse and repeat.
You follow one MRU with another, and another, and so on.
A quick example...
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The doorbell rings. Dan looks up but decides to ignore it.
It rings again, repeatedly. With a frustrated sigh he gets up and goes to see who it could be.
"I know you're in there, Daniel, I need to see you right away."
Dan recognises his mother's voice and opens the door...
It rings again, repeatedly. With a frustrated sigh he gets up and goes to see who it could be.
"I know you're in there, Daniel, I need to see you right away."
Dan recognises his mother's voice and opens the door...
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Breaking it down:
Motivation – Doorbell rings.
Reaction – Dan ignores it.
Motivation – Doorbell repeatedly rings.
Reaction – Dan goes to find out who it is.
Motivation – The person speaks to him.
Reaction – Dan recognises them and opens the door.
Now that's not going to...
Motivation – Doorbell rings.
Reaction – Dan ignores it.
Motivation – Doorbell repeatedly rings.
Reaction – Dan goes to find out who it is.
Motivation – The person speaks to him.
Reaction – Dan recognises them and opens the door.
Now that's not going to...
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Win me any awards.
But it does demonstrate it's not difficult to use MRUs to write a professional-sounding story.
And that's how you can start to become a great storyteller.
So to sum up...
But it does demonstrate it's not difficult to use MRUs to write a professional-sounding story.
And that's how you can start to become a great storyteller.
So to sum up...
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- Start with something that happens to your character.
- Follow-up with the character's response.
- Repeat as needed.
And you don't need to follow the pattern exactly. Sometimes you might want two or three motivation or reaction sentences in a row.
Play around with it.
- Follow-up with the character's response.
- Repeat as needed.
And you don't need to follow the pattern exactly. Sometimes you might want two or three motivation or reaction sentences in a row.
Play around with it.
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Credit to Jack Swain, he was the first to break down the mechanics of storytelling in his 1965 book, "Techniques of the Selling Writer".
And if you enjoyed this thread and found it valuable, consider retweeting it to help more marketers and copywriters.
And if you enjoyed this thread and found it valuable, consider retweeting it to help more marketers and copywriters.
Andrew Gould@AndrewWriteCopy
Storytelling 101
It's no great secret storytelling is a powerful tool for sales and copywriting.
But what's not as well known is that effective storytelling has its own unique writing pattern.
And I'm going to share that with you right now.
// THREAD //
It's no great secret storytelling is a powerful tool for sales and copywriting.
But what's not as well known is that effective storytelling has its own unique writing pattern.
And I'm going to share that with you right now.
// THREAD //