Abstract
People follow a story more easily than a list of points. The Story Spine is a fill-in-the-blanks frame from improv theatre. It sets up a normal routine and breaks it with one event. Then it follows the consequences one cause at a time until things settle into a new normal.
Kenn Adams made it to help improvisers build a story on the spot, and Pixar's story artists later made it well known. It works at work too, for explaining a project or an incident to someone who needs to see why each thing led to the next.
Method
- 01
Set the scene
Once upon a time: who or what is this about, and where?
- 02
Describe the routine
Every day: what normally happens? Without it, the listener can't tell what changed.
- 03
Break the routine
But one day: what happened that was different? This starts the story.
- 04
Follow the consequences
Because of that, two to four times over. Each step should be caused by the one before it.
- 05
Reach the climax
Until finally: what resolved it, or what got decided?
- 06
Name the new normal
And ever since then: what does the routine look like now?
When to use it
- You need to explain why a project or decision happened.
- Your presentation is a list of facts and people keep losing the thread.
- You're writing up an incident and want the chain of causes to be easy to follow.
Common pitfalls
- Steps that only follow each other in time. If a link reads as “and then”, it isn't a cause yet.
- A break in the routine that's too small to care about.
- Skipping the routine, so the listener can't see what changed.
- Letting the chain run on. Two to four consequences are usually enough.
Origin and references
Attributed to Kenn Adams (1991).
- Adams, K. (2007). How to Improvise a Full-Length Play: The Art of Spontaneous Theater. Allworth Press.
- Coats, E. (2011). Pixar's 22 rules of storytelling (rule 4).