Last time round, I discussed the need for you to write a new chapter for the brand. I shared how it is important to keep the brand-consumer romance alive. Hopefully you have taken that seriously and you are brimming with few ideas that you would want to execute.
If you were part of a different story and have just been transplanted or have moved into the new story, you are in a hurry to give the current story a new shape. Yu want your signature as the author where co-authorship is all that is available. You are willing to write. You have the passion, desire and deep understanding of the plat.
It is a natural reaction, we all want to write chapters that will make the story take the desired turn. We want to be the creators and I am sure you are not just a silent observer in the story you are part of. Story you are part of.
BUT, HOLD IT FOR A MOMENT
Before you start thinking of the new twist and or an extension of the thought, it maybe prudent on your part to read the story. I have always stated that the last life or history s just a story. We can not do much about how the story has reached where it is now. But, we can definitely take learning’s from it. We can understand what happened and why did that happen. We can not only re-look at our success and learn from it. We can learn from our failure too.
Reading the earlier chapter of the story is still needed even if you are the only author. Which is rarely the case. A story is just a compilation of episodes and set of choices that the characters have made. They have reacted to some external or internal inputs. They have read the situation. They have allowed their memory and understanding to take the messages, distort, delete or generalise them. Made some assumption and then only the story took the turn to where it stands today.
Reading the story will help you understand the culture and the fabric, the religion and the core values of the community responsible for the story. The constraints it must operate within. The experiences that has shaped the destiny of the story and hence you will be able to better construct the new chapter.
You will know the flavour and get the right drift. You will know what your audience is feeling. You will know exactly whey they are investing in you and are part of it. Why are they reading the story that you are crafting?
Nothing stops you to innovate and refine the flow of the story. Yes, you can ingrain a angle of horror in a romantic novel. But you understand that it is the romance for which the audience was with you. A sudden jerk will alienate them. That is something you may not want or cannot afford. But, with your understanding you still can without losing audience innovate and tweak the flavour of the story. You can wean them away from the flavour and introduce an equally exciting and defining flavour.
So go ahead, dig into the archives, talk to the characters, and talk to the silent observers within the story, get the facts right and perceptions crystal clear. Understand the reader’s expectations. Once you have done that and have a fairly good idea of how to steer the story in its future avatar, go-ahead full force and write the new chapter that you desperately want to.
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Sanjeev Kotnala with 28 years of corporate experience is the founder of Intradia World. A Brand, Marketing & Management Advisory. His focus area is Ideation and Innovation, a subject in which he conducts specialised workshops like IDEAHarvest, Liberate and InNoWait. For soft skill training, he follows SHIFT (Specific High-Intensity Frequent training), which is all about continuos frequent training with shorter sessions. Email sanjeev@intradia.in tweet @s_kotnala web:www.intradia.in www.sanjeevkotnala.com.
