When searching for a name for this newsletter, I kept returning to “Storylines” because I felt like it reflected the essence of my work.
My favorite jobs have been ones where I help a client find their storylines and define them in a crisp, compelling, resonant way. That, in turn, has led to coverage, top-of-funnel marketing leads, closed deals, and customer retention for my clients. Good storylines are powerful.
The word “storylines” also alludes to the meandering, moving energy of a good narrative — how a story can draw readers in and get them to follow along.
English novelist E.M. Forster drew a memorable distinction between a story and a plot in this way:
- “‘The king died and then the queen died’ is a story.”
- “‘The king died and then the queen died of grief’ is a plot.”
Forster’s terminology is a little confusing. I think he got "plot" and "story" reversed here, because he goes on to write that a story “can only have one merit: that of making the audience want to know what happens next.”
That, to me, is indeed the essence of a story. Or a narrative, or a plot — the exact name doesn’t matter.
The key part is this: As you read (or listen, or watch), it makes you want to know what happens next.
Storyline: a practical definition
A “storyline” is the broad arc of a story, usually just a sentence or two in length, summarizing its main features.
In usage, its meaning is a little fuzzy, and it overlaps with many other terms from journalism, communications, theater, and film, including plot, plotline, story, and narrative.
Let’s take a look at how Merriam-Webster defines it:
storyline: 1: a plotline of a story, drama, or game; or, 2: a matter of particular importance, concern, or interest to an audience — used especially in sports … often one that is evolving or developing
In the real world, storyline, plotline, plot, and story get used more or less synonymously. But they are also used inconsistently and in contradictory ways by different groups of people.
One particularly glaring inconsistency leads to a lot of grief and misunderstanding between PR pros and journalists.
- In journalism, a “story” is an event in the world that is newsworthy enough to be worth writing about.
- In communications and marketing, “story” is often synonymous with “message” — it’s the particular statement or point of view that a company wants to communicate with the world.
These two uses of the term are fundamentally incompatible. Corporate messages are rarely newsworthy, and news stories only rarely align with a company’s desired message.
This disparity accounts for the vast majority of bad PR and ineffective corporate writing. PR person: "I've got a great story for you!" Reporter: "That's not a story - stop wasting my time with this marketing BS."
But you can use storylines to help you bridge the gap.
How to use a storyline
Think of a “storyline” as summarizing the arc of a story, or as a narrative in this definition from Merriam-Webster: “a way of presenting or understanding a situation or series of events that reflects and promotes a particular point of view or set of values.”
In this view, a storyline must contain at least two elements: A narrative sequence of events (or a “situation” that implies some historical past and/or future direction), and a point of view.
Without a point of view, it’s just a statement of fact, a mere chronology or description.
Without a sequence of events, it’s just a statement of values or a marketing message.
Bring the two together, and you’ve got a story. Already, you're starting to make some magic, because you're presenting a message in a form that people are going to find much more attractive and palatable. They may even start to wonder what happens next.
Add in an element of newsworthiness, and you’ve got a news story: Something new, with a time element and a point of view, that will resonate not only with your true believers and customers but also with the press and the world. Now people have a reason to be interested right now.
Use this storyline as a guiding light whenever you write, and you'll create copy that is far more engaging and relevant to the people you want to reach.
If you can pull this off, this is when things really start to click. Reporters pay attention. Customers start visiting your website on their own. People start asking you to speak at their conference.
A good storyline is that powerful.
