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#48 - Roadway Renaissance Man

Series: SaltCast: the Backstory to Great Radio Storytelling
From: Salt Institute for Documentary Studies
Length: 00:09:50

There are lots of different ways to start a story. Maybe the most common is what I call “Here’s-how-things-are (or were)-here’s-how-they're-different.” Read the full description.
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Piece Description

There are lots of different ways to start a story. Maybe the most common is what I call “Here’s-how-things-are (or were)-here’s-how-they-are-different.”

Basically, the narrator describes what’s usual about a situation. Then they point to what’s different. A simple example is “Today was perfect. Bright sunshine. Light breeze. A couple of clouds. Then, out of nowhere, a deluge.”

The twist — the part where you point to what’s different — tells the listener what the story is about.

Carla Neufeldt’s “Roadway Renaissance Man” uses this technique to great effect. Take a listen to today’s Saltcast and see what you think.

As an added bonus, do yourself a favor. Listen to Carla’s piece once the whole way through. Then go back and check out how she “scored” the piece with music. Carla got pretty fancy in ProTools, the editing software we use at Salt.

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