#26 - Development Engine ADVANCED: 5 Commandments of Storytelling

Lyric Mastery - Storytelling in Songwriting

#026 - Use Pat Pattison's Development Engine and the 5 Commandments of Storytelling and develop your lyric idea.
Today we talk about how you can actually develop your lyric idea into an outline. That means no more struggles with what to put in the first verse or the dreaded second verse!

You might already be familiar with Pat Pattison’s approach. He’s calling it “Your Development Engine” by using boxes that are different in size. Even if you haven’t heard of his approach yet, and you’ll wonder what I mean by boxes in various sizes, I’ll give you a quick introduction to that concept in a couple of minutes.

And then, after learning about Pat’s approach, we’ll then expand that established concept with another storytelling concept to help you better flesh out the idea you have for your lyrics.

So if you struggle with not knowing how to put your idea into an outline, this episode is for you.
P.S. Check the show notes and download your free work- and cheatsheet!
Episode Overview:

[00:01:32] Why Storytelling Matters in Songwriting

[00:03:34] Introduction to Pattison’s Boxes

[00:04:03] Productive Repetition

[00:05:36] Development Engine – BOXES

[00:07:51] Verse Development

[00:11:22] The Story Grid’s 5 Commandments of Storytelling

[00:13:41] 5 Commandments in a chronologically told story in a song

[00:14:42] Commandment #1: Inciting Incident

[00:16:26] Commandment #2: The Turning Point Progressive Complication

[00:19:05] Commandment #3: Crisis

[00:20:32] Commandment #4: Climax

[00:20:56] Commandment #5: Resolution

[00:21:12] Verse Development by using the five commandments of storytelling

[00:22:49] “I’m A Believer” and the five commandments

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Coursera Songwriting Course with Pat Pattison

Visit ⁠⁠lyricmastery.com⁠⁠ for everything on storytelling in songwriting.