I know it's a big claim considering that it’s only just February, but I don’t think it can be beaten.
I’m talking about The Last of Us and if you haven’t started watching it yet, then I urge you to do so.
It is so good. So good.
The only thing I knew about this program before watching was that it was a very popular game. I saw the hype and thought it would be awful, terrible. It amongst the most expensive TV shows ever made.
I assumed it was going to be all special effects and grandiose zombies, and yes, there is that, but there is also some of the best writing I have ever seen on screen.
The premise is wonderful, I love a good dystopia and The Last of Us is about a global fungus that mutates and infects humans to use the body as a ‘host.’
It’s spread by one human biting and infecting another, so lots of half dead zombies with fungus coming out of their faces running at you. But, what makes this show so powerfully different are the heartfelt characters and how we relate to them.
It’s hard to talk about without completely ruining the plot and giving away spoilers, but within the first ten minutes of the first episode, you care. Within the first half hour, you’re enthralled and by the end of the first episode, you’re desperate to talk to anyone else who has been watching.
They aired the third episode this week, and it has to be some of the best writing I have ever seen.
If you’re reading this and haven’t yet watched, don’t worry, I’ll not spoil it, but I will say that the third episode took a left turn.
In so many books about writing, we’re told to stay on target, keep laser beamed focus on the end scene and if it’s not adding to that, then cut it.
The third episode strayed a little from that tried and tested advice and took a sharp left turn that was both surprising and wonderful.
It went into backstory in the most brilliant way possible, but still explored the major themes in the series of love and safety.
It took us on a journey behind the curtain that no one was expecting and the surprise in this turn was a delight.
So what can we learn from this when telling our own stories? How can we take this brilliant TV program and use it’s storytelling devices when creating content?
Surprises can amplify investment
Taking a left turn can be a brilliant way to surprise your audience and get them more invested. Keeping to the themes within your story, but exploring them in a new and refreshing way can increase the readers' investment in your characters.
It can increase your community's investment in you.
So let’s turn this around and look at your story. The one you tell on social media to market your books.
Let's say you post news consistently about your books, you document the cover reveals, the settings, characters, beats etc.
Taking a left turn for you might look like talking about your writing process. Showing the backstory to how you became the writer you are.
It will take your community a little deeper into your work and how those words get on the page.
It will get you further reach
Revealing secrets, revealing anything in fact, will get people talking.
When writing, we’re often told to ‘keep the reveals coming,’ keep surprising the reader with new information, so transfer this to your feed.
I get it, it can be hard, being vulnerable, but reveals are what connect us deeper and by sharing something you wouldn’t normally, it’ll resonate and spark conversations. Not just with you, but within your community, and that’s where a bigger reach occurs.
Cover it back up
Don’t make the left turn the new direction.
At the end of the third episode in The Last of Us, we were right back on track and continuing the main journey with the main characters. The reveal and surprise in the third episode showed that it’s OK to detour, but then you need to get back on track. Otherwise, the surprise that connects, invests and resonates with your audience won’t be that special any longer.
And if you’ve no idea what I’m talking about, go binge watch the first three episodes now and then come back and let's have a chat about it.
I’ll be waiting for you in the comments.
Have a good weekend,
Zoe x
Love Love Love Loviiiiiing The Last Of Us…. absolute quality 👌🏼