The unanswered questions

Storytelling, especially online, is all about asking the right questions.

A good topic, a nice thumbnail, a catchy headline — that’s usually enough to spark interest. But it’s not enough to keep someone engaged all the way through.

To keep them engaged, you need to give them a puzzle to solve:

• Can the blogger tell Coke from Pepsi?

• Is it worth buying the new iPhone?

• Why did Manchester lose again?

• Is life really meaningless?

• And when will the dollar finally crash?

(Of course, everyone has their own set of questions.)

Once the question is asked, once there’s a reason to keep reading or watching, you guide your audience toward the answer. Along the way, you provide context, raise more questions, and sometimes even play with their expectations.

Without that tension, content can still be beautiful and useful — but it won’t work as a story.