The Goosebumps Storytelling Formula
Storytelling formulas help learn the craft.
When learning the formulas, it helps to learn from someone who has been there and done it.
Do you remember your past?
I do.
We had a segment in class called D.E.A.R:
- Drop everything and read.
We had to bring our own books.
But if we forgot, the teachers had some books for us.
One series that caught my attention was Goosebumps by R.L Stine.
I never knew what he looked like growing up.
But I knew if he wrote a book, then I was going to read it.
Where a lot of authors of kids’ books wrote stories about frogs and princesses, R.L Stine focused on horror.
He is one of the most prolific storytellers of our time.
His storytelling empire has amassed him a 350 million-dollar net worth.
TV shows.
Merchandise.
Halloween costumes.
Collectables.
And much more.
He had a simple formula to bring his stories to reality…
The Storytelling Formula Used by R.L Stine
The Goosebumps storytelling formula is to think of your title first.
R.L Stine had a story about this formula in action too.
One time, he was with his son at some sort of haunted amusement park.
There was a person who was wearing a skull mask.
R.L Stine asked the man in the skull mask to take a picture of him and his son.
The man in the mask agreed.
The man said:
‘Say cheese.’
This is a normal figure of expression when we are holding the camera for someone else.
But at that moment, R.L Stine had a flash of insight.
He heard:
‘Say cheese and die.’
That title led to the creation of one of his books.
That was the first R.L Stine book that I read.
It was unique to see how he thought of it.
His formula is fascinating because where other storytellers are focused on the story build-up, story tension, and individual characters first.
R.L Stine focuses on the title first.
Let’s learn the logic as to why.
Why the Goosebumps Storytelling Formula Works
The Goosebumps storytelling formula is not too different from the Arnold Schwarzenegger formula.
‘The Arnold Schwarzenegger formula?! Where the hell are you getting all these formulas?’
Hey, I’m just reporting it!
Arnold Schwarzenegger used to ask for the movie poster first.
Once he became a major box office star, he was flooded with movie offers.
Rather than saying yes to everything, he needed a filtration system.
He wanted to know the poster of the movie first.
- What were they selling?
If he resonated with the movie poster, then he felt that the movie could be marketed properly.
What R.L Stine and Arnold Schwarzenegger did was focus on the superset before the subset.
When you look at a book:
- The actual book is the superset.
- While the individual chapters are the subset.
The subset is a section of the superset.
The title trick by R.L Stine forces him to focus on the superset.
Have you ever been gifted with a certain skill?
You were trying to teach the skill to someone else.
But they were asking you all these minuscule questions.
Imagine you run a successful Amazon store.
You’re teaching someone how to be great with Amazon.
Rather than asking questions about finding the right product, the right supplier, and how to do market research, they ask:
- How many bullets should I use on the listing page?
Sure, that’s a detail.
But it’s too low level of a detail for the newbie.
Get the bird’s eye view first!
Analysis paralysis and writer’s block happens because the person is focusing on the subset before they have established what the superset is.
How To Implement the Goosebumps Trick
‘So where do I begin, Armani?’
There’s only one step, my friend:
- Think of a title.
The question is:
- How do we determine if the title is right?
I’ve noticed that with this trick, feelings serve as a compass.
The body will normally tell you:
‘That’s it!’
Challenge yourself to experiment with long titles and short titles.
Something like:
- Say Cheese and Die
What kind of story will you create?
Questions spark answers.
Ask yourself the question:
‘What kind of story emerges when I say, say cheese and die?’
Don’t answer the question yet.
Unless you want to.
Just let the idea marinate in your mind as you do other activities.
Slowly, you will be presented with ideas on how you would go about the story.
Now it’s just a game of creating your rough draft.
That was just an example.
Don’t publish a book with the same exact title!
I’m sure R.L Stine has top-tier lawyers with that 350-million-dollar net worth of his.
I’ll give you a title to play around with:
‘Caffeine Pills and Assassins.’
What do you get from that?
Think Big First, then Small
What fascinated me about R.L Stine’s storytelling formula was that I did the same thing with YouTube videos.
Therefore, you don’t need to write a full-on book to do the trick.
The idea of focusing on the superset works for:
- Podcasts.
- Digital Courses.
- Books.
- And even book chapters.
Whenever storytelling is involved, think big first.
By focusing on the big picture, it’s easier to zone in on the details later.
And this time when you zone in on the details, you won’t major in the minors.
Instead, you will only double down on the words, sentences, and ideas that push the narrative forward.
That’s how you tell a great story.
Superset, first.
Subset, second.
For more ideas on how to tell better stories, be sure to check out my book:
- The Art & Science of Storytelling: Learn How to Tell Better Stories in Conversations, Business Communication, Leadership & Brand Building
In this book, you will learn:
- Brainstorming techniques to create compelling themes.
- Strategies to build relatable characters.
- Ways to design vivid settings.
- How to bury lessons within your stories.
- Plus, storytelling exercises to improve your narrative game.
Check out the Art and Science of Storytelling Here:
Ebook
Paperback/Kindle
Audiobook
