A Periodic Table for the Narrative Arts

It was love at first sight this morning. While sipping tea and checking my social media, I happened upon an infographic and fell in love.

This love affair was stimulated because I have been thinking a great deal about storytelling and electronics. As technological innovation continues its amazing growth spurt, I have been reminded of the vinegar and baking soda experiments that my son’s home school group did every spring. Students made one clay volcano. Then on the appointed day, they inserted some baking soda deep within the volcano. Families gathered round at a distance and watched as one volunteer poured some vinegar into the top of the volcano. Everyone jumped backwards in anticipation. It wasn’t long before the chemical reaction of those two substances produced a frothy and sometimes fire hose worthy burst of fuzzy ‘lava.’

Technology. Storytelling. Chemistry. They all come together when I happened upon that infographic – The Periodic Table of Storytelling.

What a collection of ideas to tickle a brain! What a useful visual for writing tips! I am still exploring this table. I hope you get a chance to take a look and comment, right here. It has relevance to writers and narrative artist of all kinds and for all platforms. But the part that solidified my loving bond with the infographic was this: The Fourth Wall Subtropes. On the bottom right, it discusses the whole connection with audience, indicating stories must give focus to the audience, and isn’t that one thing that this blog is all about?

True, I am in love, but I also have a beef. Who doesn’t have a beef sometimes with those one loves? Peruse it, tell me what you think, and see if you can guess my beef. It will surely come up in future posts. Looking forward to your thoughts!