Creative communications: PR and storytelling

Posted by Kenneth Glenn Morgan in Creative Communications and tagged with , ,

Every Monday at The Saucy Writer I will post an article or share articles from other blog sites about the role of creativity in practicing public relations, trends in the discipline, interviews with PR practitioners, etc. This weekly post will be called “Creative Communications”.

Today’s post is about the necessity of good storytelling in successful communications and PR initiatives. Below are several highlights from articles on practicing PR with storytelling in mind…

Everything is a story. Stories are how we make sense of the world around us, how we communicate, how we reach out and touch others. Press releases, videos, podcasts, blog posts, tweets… They’re all forms of story telling, even the driest financial statement has at its heart the story of a company’s performance. And that’s important, right? People work at that company or have invested in it, or supply it with goods or services, they depend on it in one way or another, so the story needs to told and told well.  Lastly, well told, genuine, audience-focused stories may be more important than ever.

Read more: Storytelling Rules & Writing Better Press Releases from Beyond PR

Good PR doesn’t need to know Larry Ellison or Kevin Rose or anyone in particular in the media, either.  Even though such relationships can come in handy, good PR almost always “gets ink” because a good story has been well-told to the right people. 

Read more: The 7 Elements of “Good” PR from PR-Squared

Even if you don’t work in PR, you are a communicator in some way, shape or form. We all are. It’s human nature to want to tell, hear, read, view, etc. great stories. And being the excellent communications professionals that we are—trained and highly experienced—we need to keep storytelling in mind throughout any communications strategy development and in any outreach work we do. The fact of the matter is that reporters/bloggers/producers have to tell great stories. That’s what their editors and their audiences demand. And the easier we make it on them to tell great stories by communicating to them the interesting value points of our client’s and organization’s stories in a compelling nature that actually grabs their attention (think of how the great stories you read as a child really kept your attention for hours on end), the far more likely they are to want to tell those stories.

Read more: Storytelling Is At the Heart of Effective PR from PR Breakfast Club

Many television news journalists who decide to make a career change end up in public relations. In fact, in less than two years, three of Greenough’s new hires have jumped ship from television and landed here, in PR. And, they’ve done more than fine. They’ve excelled. So, why did they succeed? The careers, after all, require different skill sets. Or, so we’re told. But that’s not necessarily the case. In fact, the cultures in both TV and PR are remarkably similar. Both professions require the ability to decipher a story. This is a critical skill when it comes to writing a press release or figuring out how to successfully pitch a client.

Read more: Do Journalists Make Good PR People? from Business Storytelling

Key components are essential to a successful story: characters, including a hero (and maybe a villain), a plot, at least one climax, and yes, a happy ending. Successful PR storytelling relies upon similar key elements. When working with my clients, we develop a “script” or plan that answers these vital questions:

• Who is the audience?
• What do we want the audience to do or feel?
• Who are the key characters in the story?
• What is the plot or plot lines for the story?
• What is the story’s climax or key success point?
• What is our happy ending?

Only when we have mapped out the story are we ready to begin the storytelling. As one of my editors used to tell me when I was in journalism, “good thinking makes good writing.” You can’t just begin spinning tales if you don’t know where the story will go.

Read more: Why PR Should Be All About Storytelling from Applebox Filmmakers Alliance

An interesting story — conveyed in a single news announcement or a multiphase publicity campaign — is a proven way to break through the communication clatter and ensure that your strategic messages reach their intended audiences. What factors make for effective storytelling? And how can you apply them to your PR efforts?

Read more: The Art of Effective Storytelling in Public Relations from Burrelles Luce

Discovering a fair trade wine

Posted by Kenneth Glenn Morgan in wine and beer and tagged with

Triada is a chardonnay from Argentina. It was another birthday wine - I opened the bottle last week and was pleased.

Usually, it’s either hit or miss with chardonnay for me. The more buttery, the less enjoyable. But this dry and citrusy white reminded me of a weighty pinto grigio. 

Triada is a delightful chardonnay for the middle of summer.

So, I went on Google and researched the vineyard. I made a pleasant discovery. According to the La Riojana  vineyard website, they are the largest producer of certified Fairtrade-organic wine in the world. And, last year:

The first Fairtrade-funded secondary school ever built in Argentina has been officially opened by La Riojana, Argentina’s first Fairtrade certified winery.

The new secondary school, specialising in agricultural studies, is a Fairtrade project which has been largely funded by the sales of The Co-operative’s own-brand Fairtrade Argentine wine range. As part of the Fairtrade accreditation, the growers receive a social premium from the Fairtrade Labelling Organisation (FLO), which The Co-operative matches.

Read more and watch the video below to learn about the benefits of the Fairtrade project with the winery.

Good writing advice

Posted by Kenneth Glenn Morgan in writing and tagged with

Writing Advice From An Elementary School Cafeteria by Jeremy Porter at Journalistics

Today is my son’s last day of kindergarten. I had lunch with him for the last time of the school year yesterday (I’ve made an effort to do so on a regular basis since last August, when I first came up with this post idea). In his cafeteria, there’s a random banner about The Writing Process (the photo to the right). I’m not sure of the banner’s origin, and I’m not sure which grade they start teaching this stuff in (I know it’s not kindergarten), but I know it’s writing advice we could all use to improve our work. I’ve added a few additional thoughts to the outline from the banner.

Read more

Home cooking to go

Posted by Kenneth Glenn Morgan in culinary and tagged with

Image courtesy Tomato Land

Some nights, you just don’t feel like cooking after a long day of blowing up rocks or cutting down trees for the lumber mill – or (as in my line of work) strategizing how to get the most out of a story idea for a PR project.

Yeah, some nights you just want to come home and enjoy a decent dinner, but you don’t have the time or energy to commit to wielding spatulas or flinging chicken breasts into a plate of flour and seasoned breadcrumbs. But the reliable golden arches won’t do the trick, either.

Actually, what am I saying? I really don’t cook that much at all. Eggs – sometimes.

If your town is anything like my town you have a few authentic and homegrown restaurants that offer prepared meals you can pickup, take home, heat up and enjoy. Tomato Land in Tallahassee falls under this special category, where the home cooking aims for comfort food status and the prices are kind to any household budget.

Tonight, we had the chicken and dumplings from Tomato Land. Was it good? Of course. Their website includes a menu page and a selection of recipes, too. Right now the recipe tab on their website lists some enticing desserts – such as Helen’s Banana Pudding.

Tomato Land also sells locally grown produce. Find out more at Tomato Land.

Community support

Posted by Kenneth Glenn Morgan in publishing, writing and tagged with , ,

Author portrait: Kelly Hill Photography

The Writing Community: How readers and authors can support each other - by Isabel Ashdown at  IsabelAshdown.com

With over 100,000 new titles hitting the bookshelves each year, many might say you’d be crazy to dream of becoming a published author in such a competitive marketplace.  Most writers barely scratch a living out of their ever-decreasing advances and annual royalty cheques, with the majority supplementing their living through other jobs such as teaching and journalism.  Whilst the life of an author can be at times exhilarating, rewarding and liberating – it can also be an existence of uncertainty, and let’s face it, genteel poverty!

But for the non-blockbuster, non-prize-winning, mid-list published author, the greatest fear of all is that they won’t sell enough books to be able to continue writing; a thought that for most is intolerable.

Thankfully, I’m part of the warm community of Twitter, in which I get to chat to other authors, readers and writers across the genres.  We share writing tips, alert each other to new opportunities and enjoy cheering conversations with the most important people of all – our readers.

This week I’ve been thinking about the ways in which we can all help our fellow authors in their uphill profession.  If you’ve loved a book, here are the 4 key things I think can make a big difference to an author: Read more

Inspiration

Posted by Kenneth Glenn Morgan in writing and tagged with

My blog post yesterday titled “Procrastination” drew this reaction from my mom and my sister, Kim, on Facebook:

Kim: Good article. Comfort is important, but windows are distracting. Any writer who waits for inspiration will not write. Inspiration is rare. However, writing comes once one starts writing. And after one has been writing for years, words come at any time a writer sits down to write – although getting up from the desk now and then when stuck can help to get the flow going. 
 
Mom: ‎Very good advice!
 
Me: I like having a window. 
 
Mom: A window is nice - but it’s just important to write whenever and wherever you can.
 
 Kim: Yes, having a window is nice but doesn’t or shouldn’t have anything to do with being inspired or writing better. In fact, most inspiration occurs at inconvenient times with no pen in hand or computer nearby. And inspiration is rare and can’t be depended on for great writing.
 
I personally do not find windows distracting. In fact, I find writing in a windowless room unappealing. But that’s me.
 
Annie Dillard writes in her book The Writing Life:
 
Appealing workplaces are to be avoided. One wants a room with no view, so imagination can meet memory in the dark. When I furnished this study seven years ago, I pushed the long desk against a blank wall, so I could not see from either window. Once, fifteen years ago, I wrote in a cinder-block cell over a parking lot.
 
I just read this passage two nights ago. Ironic timing.
 
I feel Dillard’s measures are a little too severe for me - but I think what she is getting at is what my sister was also getting at: inspiration must be nurtured internally in the writer by applying the hard approach of putting words to paper regardless of surroundings.
 
Still, I’m sensitive to my environment. I’d find it very unappealing to write or work in a room without a window.
 
But Kim (who is also a writer) and Annie Dillard are making the same point: Writing comes down to action. Even writing when not inspired is crucial for good writing – because if we waited to be inspired we’d never get anything written. Inspiration may weave in and out of our writing routines but don’t rely on it to be a constant.
 
I view inspiration like the red line on the fuel tank gauge in the car. How far will the fumes take us until we get to the next station where, perhaps, we’ll find more inspiration. Maybe the next ”fill-up” will provide a full tank – or maybe only a quarter of a tank. The work of writing is to push that vehicle as far as it will go on inspiration - but to keep driving, regardless, is what matters.
 
As I just finished the last sentence above, my partner walked into the room and said, “When are you going to stop writing about writing and start writing?”
 
Okay. My tank is half full. Time to get to work.
 
By-the-way, you can view my sister’s blog at K.O. Morgan.
 

Procrastination

Posted by Kenneth Glenn Morgan in writing and tagged with

Procrastination comes in all forms. Surely, we’ve all been participants in our own versions – even subconsciously.

For example – I believe it is important for me (I’ve been telling myself) to have the right kind of writing environment for me to create in.

Recently I have been thinking about the best place in the house for my writing. It’s got to be the right room with the right window and the right view of the garden or whatever – and the right desk placed in the right spot in the room against the right wall, etc. But on some level isn’t this a form of procrastination?

I do think it is important for a writer to work in an environment that is good and comfortable or productive for them. But at some point, we all need to get on with it.

I think writers may be more susceptible to procrastination. That blank writing pad or laptop screen can seem like the ocean before a triathlon. It’s easier to pace back and forth along the edge of the shoreline, picking through seashells and pieces of driftwood. But at some point we have to walk or plunge into the water.

I’m not saying that creating the right working enviroment isn’t important. But sooner or later, we need to pick that spot in the room for the desk, accept the view from the window and get to work.

The cartoon featured in this post is used with permission from Debbie Ridpath Ohi at Inkygirl.com.

The weight of the novel according to Franzen

Posted by Kenneth Glenn Morgan in books, publishing, writing and tagged with , ,

Freedom, the new novel by Jonathan Franzen, is on my reading list. It was going to be my next read after recently finishing Michael Cunningham’s By Nightfall, but I’ve decided to read Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea instead.

In the following interview on PBS Newshour, Franzen talks about what novels  mean or offer in a culture of quick information and instant, electronic gratification.