23 Reasons To Use Lists, How to Build Community and How to Write Across Difference

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10 stories we've enjoyed this week

Illustration by Anshika Khullar - Work with them

Hi All,
Storythings is ten years old. To celebrate we've commissioned eight writers to tell stories about what they imagine the world will look like in ten years time. We've been publishing these stories daily and will continue all through next week. We've also developed eight formats as responses to those stories. The response formats include fascinating conversations about the issues we could face in 2031. More on this next week but for now enjoy the first four stories and their responses.

Pre-order Russell's excellent book. See more on this below in the links.

This week on Formats Unpacked I wrote about the podcast Anthems and how a 10 minute podcast has more impact than most hour-long podcasts. If you fancy unpacking a format get in touch.

Thanks this week go to Nathan Martin, Annie Neimand and Russell Davies.

I'm off to order a curry. Hope your weekend is as tasty as mine. Have a good one.
Hugh

The Short Story

How to Write Across Difference
(6 min read)

How Creative Mornings Has Built a 400,000 Strong Community
(8 min read)

Hot Streaks in Your Career Don't Happen by Accident
(7 min read)

The Difference Between Great Content Documentaries and Great Form Documentaries
(5 min read)

23 Reasons You Should Use Lists in Your Presentations
(list)

We Were Always Here
(30 min listen)

A Film Designed For Your Senses
(1 min read)

A Master List of Twitter Recommendation Threads
(31 Twitter threads)

9 Lessons in Creativity from Joni Mitchell
(8 min read)

Found Amateur Snaps Twinned With Martin Parr Photos
(photo gallery)

How can we help you?

Storythings is a strategy and content company based in Brighton and London. We'd love to help you with some creative and bold ideas.

Here's 3 reasons to get in touch.

1. You want to talk to us about content production: podcasts, videos, animations, illustrations, editorial.

2. You want to talk to us about content strategy or format development.

3. You want to create a brand or an identity that makes it easier to communicate your message.

We do other things too. We're very friendly and always enjoy meeting people, so get in touch.

The Full Story

How to Write Across Difference
This is a brilliant read on how to tell somebody else's story. If you do have to tell other people's stories bookmark this and return to it. It will make you a better and more sensitive writer.
(6 min read)

How Creative Mornings Has Built a 400,000 Strong Community
Creative Mornings, the global networking event for creatives, is twelve years old. I really enjoyed reading this essay from Jon Levy's new book that tells the story of the founder, Tina Roth-Eisenberg, moving to New York from Switzerland and needing two things: to improve her English and make friends. The answer was a networking event for creatives. Twelve years later she reflects on what she has built and how crucial consistency is in building a community.
(8 min read)

Hot Streaks in Your Career Don't Happen by Accident
Bursts of high-impact works are remarkably common across diverse domains. Most people get them at least once or twice in their careers. So why do they happen? Some people think it's an age thing, whilst others think it's about specialism. New research suggests it's about two things that can be boiled down to explore, then exploit.
(7 min read)

The Difference Between Great Content Documentaries and Great Form Documentaries
Writer Jeff Hughes believes documentaries fall into two categories: content and form. Alex Gibney makes great content docs, whilst DA Pennebaker makes great form docs. I've not got around to watching the Todd Haynes Velvet Underground documentary yet. The reviews are excellent. Here Jeff looks at why it feels so immersive and how the filmmaker addresses the themes of the film stylistically.
(5 min read)

23 Reasons You Should Use Lists in Your Presentations
Russell Davies does presentations like nobody else. In a good way. He was kind enough to send me an advance copy of his new book 'Everything I Know in Life I Learned From PowerP0int.' It's every bit as brilliant as I knew it would be. If you have to do presentations pre-order this book. If you don't have to do presentations also pre-order this book. It will make you a better communicator.
(list)

We Were Always Here
I've just started listening to this and it's fantastic. It's 40 years since the first cases of HIV were identified in the UK. 52-year-old health campaigner Marc Thompson’s recalls his own experiences as a young gay black man discovering his sexuality in the 1980s, just as the world was getting to grips with HIV.
(30 min listen)

A Film Designed For Your Senses
The Beach is a documentary from Australian filmmaker Warwick Thornton that documents his time living on an isolated beach in order to “transform his life through the healing power of nature.” It's interesting because it sits somewhere between Slow TV and ASMR. it's designed for the senses. I heard Brian Eno recently talking about the idea of ASMR music being interesting. I instantly recoiled at the thought but later found myself remembering hearing Laurie Anderson's 'O Superman' for the first time and how it felt like it was doing something interesting to my brain. Like it was designed to do something to my senses in a way no other music had before. If anyone has any suggestions of songs that do similar then tell me what they are and I'll put them in a playlist and share it.
(1 min read)

A Master List of Twitter Recommendation Threads
Looking for a good podcast? A new way to cook leeks? Books about New York? A TV series to binge that is similar to Succession? Save this and you'll never need another recommendation again: "I've been bookmarking all the book/podcast/music recommendation requests on here for a while, intending to make a big list. But I never will - so behold! A master list of recommendation tweets"
(7 min read)

9 Lessons in Creativity from Joni Mitchell
It's Joni's birthday this weekend. Happy birthday Joni. Here are nine lessons in creativity from her life. I wasn't aware that she had polio as a child and am fascinated by stories such as the one about how polio helped her develop 'weird chords'.
(8 min read)

Found Amateur Snaps Twinned With Martin Parr Photos
When Lee Shulman bought a box of vintage slides he fell in love with the people and stories within – then he paired them with the beloved photographer’s own pictures.
(photo gallery)

We hope you've enjoyed this week's newsletter. I'm sure some of your friends would love to read it. Sharing it would be really appreciated. If you've received this from a friend you can subscribe here and get it direct to your inbox every Friday.

Thanks for reading and see you all next week,

Hugh, Matt, Anjali and the team at Storythings