Write in 3D

Storytelling stuff worth sharing

Nov 22, 2024

So my beloved Rebecca and I are gearing up for Thanksgiving! Her folks arrive on Sunday. Sister Emily and nephew Sawyer arrive on Wednesday. A gaggle of us will run the Turkey Trot first thing Thursday morning (so as to counteract the inevitable second helping). And then we’ll host a bunch more family, put on the Detroit Lions game, and fellowship our faces off.

I even did my “test turkey” last weekend, smoking a couple breasts and wings to glorious culinary perfection. Don’t believe me? Check it out—

So much gratitude to my dudes at Pinecraft Barbeque. They are the BEST. Not only do they never steer me wrong, but in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton, they set up some grills and cooked for a couple days straight to feed first responders, debris removal workers, and electrical/powerline workers. Rock-freaking-stars.

A happy Thanksgiving to all of you! I cannot promise I will share leftovers.

Storytelling Tip o’ the Week

I tell my playwriting students to “write in 3D.” I also tell it to my fiction, memoir, and public speaking students and clients. But it originated in my playwriting classes.

Theatre is 3D. The collective audience sits in the same room and breathes the same air as the actors on stage, who move through the space as three-dimensional creatures interacting with three-dimensional sets and props and costumes.

All the senses are engaged: sight, hearing, touch (a velvet robe feels different than spun cotton or wool, even to an audience member at a distance), and yes even taste and smell. Because listeners/viewers/readers receive your story autobiographically, they will recall and project their own sensory memories onto your characters when they eat, drink, or catch of whiff of their beloved’s perfume or cologne.

I mean, just take a look at that gorgeous smoked turkey again. Can’t you just smell it??

Tell your story in 3D. Take advantage of all the tactile and metaphorical riches of the physical world. Especially for a play, of course, since from page one you as the playwright are collaborating with future directors, designers, and actors. But also for memoir, because nothing drops your reader into your memory more quickly than a well-placed sensory detail (especially smell!).

Same for fiction. A couple 3D details and BANG, your reader’s imagination is kickstarted into overdrive.

Same for telling a story as part of your speech. Going 3D and tapping into the visceral will hook your audience way way way WAY faster and deeper than any PowerPoint or gimmick or handout or outline or intellectual argument.

Feelings and thoughts? Yeah. They’re great. And necessary. But they need to manifest externally, or your audience won’t receive them. Telling your story in 3D ensures that you are externally manifesting your internal life.

Recommendation

Check out SOMEBODY SOMEWHERE on HBO/Max.

Seriously. Tonight. Do it.

This review encapsulates the beauty of this show: Love Letter to Middle America.

I’m a couple years late to it, but the combination of awkward authenticity, slapstick shenanigans, and understated human truth is simply breathtaking. Heart-filling and heart-breaking musical numbers, exquisite pacing, and a pitch-perfect cast.

One of the creators is from Canada, and that aesthetic comes through. If you liked Schitt’s Creek (also Canadian), then somebody somewhere will be right up your alley. From the minimalistic horn underscoring, to the gently undulating handheld steadycam, to the combination of silly, raw, and sweet… yeah. Platinum-level storytelling here.

Quotable

My dad texted me this quote earlier this week, and I liked the sentiment so much I dug up the full clip.

Look, man, the devil’s in the infinite yeses, not the nos. ‘No’ is just as important, if not more important. Especially if you have some level of success and access. ‘No’ becomes more important than ‘yes.’ Because, I mean, we can all look around and see we’ve over-leveraged our life with yeses and going, ‘Geez, oh man. I'm making C-minuses and all this s**t in my life because I said yes to too many things.’
—Matthew McConaughey

And here’s that FULL CLIP for full context.

For what it’s worth, my version of this—which I have written on my whiteboard above my desk—is: “If it’s not a ‘hell yes!’ then it’s a NO.”

Keeps me from taking on too many projects. Keep me focused on what really matters and what I really care about and enjoy. Keeps me from putting out C-minus work.

The Page&Stage Podcast

Rachel Schaeffer, a pioneer in narrative therapy and creator of Story Alchemy, joins me on the Page&Stage Podcast. With her fascination for understanding the human mind, she offers an antidote to unquestioned, harmful beliefs that often become bad habits, leading to fear and overwhelm. Through the four pillars of Story Alchemy—creative journaling, meditation, mindful movement, and a connection to nature—individuals are encouraged to realize their patterns and alter their narratives for better mental health.