Lab: Plan Your Story
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Lab: Plan Your Story Before You Record
This lab walks you through creating a simple story outline. Completing this before you open any recording software will save you significant editing time.
Watch first: The short video below shows how a finished 2-minute digital story is structured, from hook to closing line. Notice how the story is built around a single clear idea.
Step 1: Choose your subject
Write down one person, place, event, or memory you want to document. Be specific. 'My grandmother' is harder to tell than 'the afternoon my grandmother taught me to make fiddleheads.'
Your subject: (write this in your notebook now)
Step 2: Identify your audience
Who is this story for? Your answer changes the tone, the language, and what you can leave unsaid.
- Close family - you can use names and inside references.
- Community members - you can assume shared context but should explain names.
- General public - assume no prior knowledge; every person and place needs a sentence of context.
Step 3: Write a 3-part outline
Fill in these three sections with 1 to 3 sentences each:
- Opening hook: An image, sound, question, or moment that draws the listener in immediately. Avoid 'My name is...' or 'I am going to tell you about...' Start in the middle of something happening.
- Middle: The experience, detail, or meaning you want to share. What happened? What did you see, hear, or feel? What made this moment significant?
- Closing: A sentence or two that gives the listener something to carry with them. It does not have to be a moral. It can be an image, a question, or a return to the opening.
Step 4: Time yourself reading it aloud
Read your outline out loud at a natural speaking pace and time it. A comfortable 2-minute story needs about 250 to 300 words of spoken content. If your outline is much shorter, add detail. If it is much longer, find what you can cut without losing the core meaning.
Checkpoint: Before moving on, you should have a written 3-part outline and a rough sense of your story's length. You do not need to have every word memorized - you will speak from this outline, not read it word for word.