Vincentian Digital Storytelling
Vincentian Digital Storytelling The Program: The Office of Mission and Values records digital stories from Faculty, Staff and Students. One of our greatest providers of compelling stories is the students who attend a service immersion trip. Few students interact so closely with poverty, and most come back from this life-changing event with an experience they would like to tell others about. The service immersion trips charge the attendees with “Bringing Change Back Home.” The digital story that is produced is a great tool to accomplish that goal, particularly helping students reflect on their encounters with the poor and experiences of living in poverty. Before you leave: Reflect on your assumptions about the poor and/or living in poverty. Think about what your day-to-day life is like. What do you think is different from those living poverty? How do you procure food, clothing, and a place to sleep? How do you entertain yourself? What is your support structure like – family, friends, peers? If something went significantly wrong in your life, (e.g. you were diagnosed with a debilitating disease or you couldn‟t pay your rent), who could you lean on? What support systems do you have in place? Think about what you expect to happen, and what the conditions are like, at your service site. Become aware of any stereotypes you may have of people living in poverty. On the trip: Keep all of your senses awake and pay attention to detail! Reflect on your encounters with the people at your site and/or insights about what it means to live in poverty. Be sure to note the images, conversations, insights that strike or surprise you, keep a short list of things that could be potential topics for a story after your trip. Listen to any themes that continue to surface in your reflections throughout the week. Keep your mind, heart, and spirit attuned to „aha‟ moments of Awareness, Dialogue, and Solidarity. Pay attention to the detail. When you do tell your story it will depend on detail. Writing your story: Writing a story can be difficult for some. Most people can tell stories to each other during casual conversation, but the idea of giving the story permanence and putting it in the form of a script can cause some people to freeze. Don‟t worry. Be sure to keep in mind that this is a personal story, and only you can tell it. Also remember that this isn‟t like other writing assignments you might get, you are writing a story so that is sounds natural when read aloud not one that is written well. Grammar and spelling are not as important as getting a story that sounds natural when read. Your job as a storyteller is to paint a picture of the moment for your audience. Pretend that you are telling this story to a parent, roommate or friend, someone that you are comfortable talking to. Also keep in mind that writing the story will help you tell it better. Good stories have:
A beginning, middle and an end. A conflict, dilemma or predicament. A good narrative hook, a line that grabs attention. A bit of background, explanation. A conclusion, a future course of action.
A good way to think of the story is using the acronym: ABDCE Action: Start with action to draw in the reader. Background: Briefly talk about your experience. Development: Here is where the background leads to developing your story. Climax: The moment of insight or realization. End: Tying it all together
What should I write about? Brainstorming - How do you know what story to choose? Create a timeline of your Service Immersion Trip. You can timeline your relationships, spirituality, struggles, VIA moments etc… This will hopefully bring back memories you had forgotten.
Remember, the purpose of this is to share a meaningful story from your experience in an engaging way. To help you think of a story to tell, consider choosing a story with one of these focus points: Vincentian Simplicity: When you first heard about the invitation to simplicity what was your reaction? List 5 moments during the immersion when the idea of simplicity clicked. Describe the experience of „unplugging‟ for a week? How do you feel about simplicity now? How you will live simplicity in your daily life now. Vincentian Encounter: Tell a story about how you began to learn what being a Vincentian in Action really meant. Describe your experience of service and if your understanding of service and fighting injustice changed during the immersion. When did you feel most alive and connected during your experience? What touched your Vincentian heart? Who inspired you? Awareness: Describe a moment when you woke up to something new in yourself or the reality of the world. Share a story of encounter with those living in poverty. Describe a relationship that was built. Dialogue: Share a moment of Dialogue. What did you learn about a person or about living in poverty from this encounter? Did you see any seeds of systemic change – a sign of hope or inspiration? How did you wrestle with the whys? Solidarity: Describe a time when you felt a part of the VIA community. Share a story when you gained insight into what it means to live in a different reality. When/where/with whom did you feel a deep sense of connection? Transitions: Reflect on the emotions you felt as the immersion came to an end and you returned back to DePaul. Share the story of your transition back after a service immersion and how you began to integrate your experience into your everyday life. Callings: Describe a time when you felt that you brought change back home. Is there any cause that you will now take up after your experience? How are you responding to the Vincentian questions, “What must be done?” The story should be between 250-400 words. No more than 2 pages typed and double-spaced. Keeping it short is key since we want to captivate audiences and not over expose them. A really helpful way to start writing is to just free write for 10 minutes. Once you finish your first draft, read it aloud to yourself or a friend. Ask these questions:
Is there something missing? Did I leave something vital out? Is there descriptive language? Am I depicting the scene? Is there too much? Am I giving information that isn‟t useful or doesn‟t fit?
Meet with your group or other immersion participants in a Story Circle to ask for their feedback. This is a great opportunity for you to reflect on these powerful moments with your group. Work on improving your story once before you send the draft to be reviewed. Send an Email draft to Brian Cicirello at [email protected]. He may give suggestions on how to revise it. Once you have a script, you will come in and read it for a recording session downtown in the Office for Mission and Values. On occasion, the Office of Mission and Values will use pictures (if the exist) to help tell the story. If you have pictures please bring them to the recording session. If you think that your story would benefit from pictures, be sure to take several on your trip. Most digital stories will require at least 40 pictures to accompany the audio. Visit the following website to view examples of other students telling their stories: http://mission.depaul.edu/ABOUTUS/PODCASTS/Pages/VincentianStoryCorps.aspx
A beginning, middle and an end. A conflict, dilemma or predicament. A good narrative hook, a line that grabs attention. A bit of background, explanation. A conclusion, a future course of action.
A good way to think of the story is using the acronym: ABDCE Action: Start with action to draw in the reader. Background: Briefly talk about your experience. Development: Here is where the background leads to developing your story. Climax: The moment of insight or realization. End: Tying it all together
What should I write about? Brainstorming - How do you know what story to choose? Create a timeline of your Service Immersion Trip. You can timeline your relationships, spirituality, struggles, VIA moments etc… This will hopefully bring back memories you had forgotten.
Remember, the purpose of this is to share a meaningful story from your experience in an engaging way. To help you think of a story to tell, consider choosing a story with one of these focus points: Vincentian Simplicity: When you first heard about the invitation to simplicity what was your reaction? List 5 moments during the immersion when the idea of simplicity clicked. Describe the experience of „unplugging‟ for a week? How do you feel about simplicity now? How you will live simplicity in your daily life now. Vincentian Encounter: Tell a story about how you began to learn what being a Vincentian in Action really meant. Describe your experience of service and if your understanding of service and fighting injustice changed during the immersion. When did you feel most alive and connected during your experience? What touched your Vincentian heart? Who inspired you? Awareness: Describe a moment when you woke up to something new in yourself or the reality of the world. Share a story of encounter with those living in poverty. Describe a relationship that was built. Dialogue: Share a moment of Dialogue. What did you learn about a person or about living in poverty from this encounter? Did you see any seeds of systemic change – a sign of hope or inspiration? How did you wrestle with the whys? Solidarity: Describe a time when you felt a part of the VIA community. Share a story when you gained insight into what it means to live in a different reality. When/where/with whom did you feel a deep sense of connection? Transitions: Reflect on the emotions you felt as the immersion came to an end and you returned back to DePaul. Share the story of your transition back after a service immersion and how you began to integrate your experience into your everyday life. Callings: Describe a time when you felt that you brought change back home. Is there any cause that you will now take up after your experience? How are you responding to the Vincentian questions, “What must be done?” The story should be between 250-400 words. No more than 2 pages typed and double-spaced. Keeping it short is key since we want to captivate audiences and not over expose them. A really helpful way to start writing is to just free write for 10 minutes. Once you finish your first draft, read it aloud to yourself or a friend. Ask these questions:
Is there something missing? Did I leave something vital out? Is there descriptive language? Am I depicting the scene? Is there too much? Am I giving information that isn‟t useful or doesn‟t fit?
Meet with your group or other immersion participants in a Story Circle to ask for their feedback. This is a great opportunity for you to reflect on these powerful moments with your group. Work on improving your story once before you send the draft to be reviewed. Send an Email draft to Brian Cicirello at [email protected]. He may give suggestions on how to revise it. Once you have a script, you will come in and read it for a recording session downtown in the Office for Mission and Values. On occasion, the Office of Mission and Values will use pictures (if the exist) to help tell the story. If you have pictures please bring them to the recording session. If you think that your story would benefit from pictures, be sure to take several on your trip. Most digital stories will require at least 40 pictures to accompany the audio. Visit the following website to view examples of other students telling their stories: http://mission.depaul.edu/ABOUTUS/PODCASTS/Pages/VincentianStoryCorps.aspx
